Parler Games: A Narrative Framework Analysis of Parler Conspiracy Theories and the January 6th Insurrection

Abstract

Parler, a prominent right-leaning “echo platform,” became a forum in late 2020 for Trump supporters convinced the 2020 election was fraudulent as they abandoned or were banned from Twitter. This study suggests that a narrative analytical approach to the discussions on Parler in the period from the 2020 presidential election up to the violence at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 can provide some insight into the relationship between storytelling and real world action. We deploy a computational pipeline combining natural language processing and network analysis to uncover the underlying narrative framework, based on an actant-interaction model. We use a topic modeling approach to further reduce the complexity of the narrative framework; various community detection methods afford a macroscopic view onto the discussions, allowing one to both trace the development of narratives and subnarratives over time, and to explore at various levels of granularity the make-up of narrative subgraphs. The main narrative framework of Parler is redolent of conspiracy theory, and portrays a profound threat to America and her patriots from deep state actors, “globalists,” and Democrats. This threat necessitates a response. Beyond expressing anger, people posting to the site developed strategies for fighting back. Analyzing shifts and connections in conversations reveals an emergent real-world conspiracy to take violent action on January 6th, demonstrating how online conspiracy theorizing fostered an emergent real-world conspiracy.