Apple removes right-wing social media platform Parler from app store

Apple has removed Parler, the alternative social media platform popular with conservatives, from its app store, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

This comes after the app was banned from the Google Play store, just a day earlier.

Apple released a statement saying, "We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity. Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people's safety. We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues."

On Friday, Twitter pulled the plug permanently on President Trump's twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, citing concern that Trump would use it for "further incitement of violence." Trump retorted that he'd be "building out our own platform in the near future. We will not be SILENCED!"

Trump, a novice politician but seasoned salesman, realized the power of social media in ways that few other politicians did. And he wielded it with never-before-seen power to diminish his opponents, shape elections and mold reality - at least in the eyes of his supporters.