Political Polarization and Platform Migration:: A Study of Parler and Twitter Usage by United States of America Congress Members

Abstract

Growing dissatisfaction with platform governance decisions at major social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram has led to a number of substantial efforts, originating both on the political right and the political left, to shift to new platforms. In this paper, we examine one of the most impactful of these platform migration efforts, a recent effort primarily on the political right to shift from Twitter to Parler in response to Twitter's increased efforts to flag misinformation in the lead up to the 2020 election in the US. As a case study, we analyze the usage of Parler by all members of the United States Congress and compare that to their usage of Twitter. Even though usage of Parler, even at its peak, was only a small percentage of Twitter usage, Parler usage has been impactful. Specifically, it was linked to the planning of the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol building. Going forward, Parler itself may not have a large and lasting impact, but it offers important lessons about the relationship between political polarization, platform migration, and the real-world political impacts of platform governance decisions and the splintering of our media landscape.