Conservative billionairess Rebekah Mercer is the financial backer of Parler, the rapidly growing social media platform that's challenging Twitter as the go-to place for conservatives.
On Saturday the company announced that Mercer is a "previously unknown investor."
"Bekah is a great friend, an American patriot, and most importantly committed to the Parler vision of neutrality and data privacy," said Parler CEO John Matze.
Mercer is the daughter of Robert Mercer, who made billions in artificial intelligence and his hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies.
The Mercers were among the richest and earliest supporters of candidate Donald Trump in his 2016 bid for the presidency. The family has also been a well-known investor in Breitbart, the conservative online site.
"John and I started Parler to provide a neutral platform for free speech, as our founders intended, and also to create a social media environment that would protect data privacy," Rebekah Mercer said in a statement.
"The ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords demands that someone lead the fight against data mining, and for the protection of free speech online."
Parler, founded in 2018 by John Matze and Jared Thomson, touts that it does not restrict online speech like rival Twitter, nor does it sell its users' data.
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