The IT Nerd

This morning I got a very unusual email from Epik Hosting. Unusual because I have never reached out to or dealt with them on any level in the past. I’ve only written about them. You might recall that Epik have a reputation for being the host of choice for right wing and new-nazi types in the United States. And they were said to be currently trying to help right wing social media site Parler get back on line after being Thanos snapped off the Internet by Amazon Web Services, as well as Apple, and Google for allowing the violence at the Capitol to be planned on their site. In any case, the email directed me towards a press release that was online. And in that press release, the key item is this:

Read a certain way, it sounds like Epik isn’t actively involved in this effort to bring Parler back from the dead.

The next part of the statement reads like they are trying to distance themselves from their reputation.

Which is interesting as to the best of my knowledge their reputation is as follows:

• The domain name for the Proud Boys former websites were hosted at EPIK.
• They once hosted 8chan’s domain name, now known as 8kun, but eventually dumped the site following its connection to a 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. 
• Neo-Nazi site The Daily Stormer is apparently a customer of theirs. 
• Conspiracy theory website Infowars was once a customer of theirs. 
• EPIK got into a fight with PayPal over what was considered to be money laundering. 
• EPIK doesn’t try to filter objectionable content.

But maybe the cynic in me is making an appearance.

The rest of this statement reads like a call for free speech and civil discourse. Here’s an example:

So, if I take this whole statement I read it as follows:

• Epik isn’t exactly helping Parler to get back online, but they support Parler
• Epik supports free speech and Parler is part of that.

Again, maybe I am getting cynical in my old age, but I look at this statement and I really feel that there’s a fair amount of spin and support of Parler here. Which is interesting because Epik is allegedly not helping them. Perhaps I am reading this wrong. But given the track record that Epik apparently has, looking at this statement with some degree of suspicion seems to be warranted. At least in my view.

This entry was posted on January 21, 2021 at 10:13 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Parler. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.