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Parler Says Previously Secret Backer Is Conservative Billionaire Rebekah Mercer

Proportion of Children Who Have Mental Health Emergencies Increasing Amid Pandemic

The proportion of children seeking emergency visits for mental health has increased massively amid the pandemic, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Nov. 13. Data from the CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) was compared to that of the previous year and it was found that while the number of visits to the emergency department for both health (such as asthma, sprains, and injuries) and mental health have decreased, the proportion of mental health-related emergency visits had increased substantially. Emergency Departments (ED) are commonly the first point of care for children’s mental health emergencies. This especially holds true when there are no other options or services accessible. The data derives from hospitals from 47 different states in the United States, representative of 73…

Parler Says Previously Secret Backer Is Conservative Billionaire Rebekah Mercer

Social media website Parler said Saturday that its previously unknown investor is billionaire Rebekah Mercer, after speculation from some activists that the site was linked to Russia.

In a press release, Parler said Mercer is backing the site.

“Rebekah Mercer is a great friend, an American patriot, and most importantly committed to the Parler vision of neutrality and data privacy. We are grateful for her support since 2018, and her early faith in the founders has enabled us to reach these heights,” CEO John Matze said in a statement.

Mercer said she started Parler with Matze “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.”

“Benjamin Franklin warned us: ‘Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.’ 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. That someone is Parler, a beacon to all who value their liberty, free speech, and personal privacy,” she added.

Mercer, 46, is the daughter of hedge fund manager Robert Mercer. The Mercer family has donated to a bevy of conservative companies and causes over the years.

Mercer “is widely known for her dedication to philanthropy and upholding American values,” Parler said.

Parler Says Previously Secret Backer Is Conservative Billionaire Rebekah Mercer Dan Bongino speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 21, 2018. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon)

The unknown backing of Parler, which is partially owned by conservative radio host Dan Bongino, was subject to rampant speculation.

Dave Troy, co-curator of Tedx MidAtlantic and self-described disinformation specialist, claimed that the site was linked to Russia because Matze is married to a Russian national.

A screengrab that appeared to be from Fox News showing a chryon about Parler being backed by left-wing billionaire George Soros also circulated on social media. A Fox News spokeswoman confirmed to The Epoch Times that the screengrab was fake.

Parler bills itself as a free speech social media platform. According to its community guidelines, Parler acts against illegal content like child pornography but will not remove content or accounts聽“on the basis of the opinion expressed within the content at issue.”

“Parler鈥檚 policies are, to use a well-known concept in First Amendment law, viewpoint-neutral,” the guidelines state.

The number of accounts skyrocketed from about 4.5 million to 10 million in recent days.

Matze said the reason is people don’t trust big technology companies like Facebook and Twitter amid an escalation in censorship on those platforms.

“They鈥檙e really overreaching to an extent that鈥檚 scary, and people are really realizing this. They鈥檙e waking up and saying: we鈥檝e got to do something about it,” Matze said.

Follow Zachary on Twitter: @zackstieber

Focus News: Parler Says Previously Secret Backer Is Conservative Billionaire Rebekah Mercer

Newsom Says He Shouldn’t Have Attended Gathering While Urging Californians to Stay Home

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said he should not have joined other families for a dinner while urging people to stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “While our family followed the restaurant’s health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner,” the Democrat said in a statement released by his office. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsom attended a dinner on Nov. 6 at the French Laundry that included at least 12 people, among them his wife. California health guidelines currently bar people from participating in gatherings of more than three different households. A Newsom spokesman initially defended the dinner, saying it was outdoors. The office later issued the governor’s statement. Previous guidelines required all gatherings to be held outside.…