President Trump has been tweeting about Twitter’s liberal bias, as exemplified by its banning of actor James Woods, reportedly for tweeting “If you try to kill the King, you best not miss’ #HangThemAll.” Good thing Ralph Waldo Emerson isn’t on Twitter!
The Associated Press promptly stepped in to defend Twitter:
Trump, who tweeted and re-tweeted complaints Friday and Saturday, said he would “monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms.” He has previously asserted that social media companies exhibit bias against conservatives, something the companies have rejected as untrue.
Well, all right then!
The president’s comments came after Facebook this week banned Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones and other extremists, saying they violated its ban on “dangerous individuals.” The company also removed right-wing personalities Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones’ site, Infowars, which often posts conspiracy theories.
So are conspiracy theories forbidden on Twitter? If so, why haven’t the New York Times’ and Washington Post’s accounts been suspended? The Democrats have spent the last two years pursuing a conspiracy theory about President Trump that verged on the insane.
Facebook’s move signaled renewed effort by the social media giant to remove people and groups promoting objectionable material such as hate, racism and anti-Semitism. The company said it has “always banned” people or groups that proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence, regardless of political ideology.
The AP takes that claim at face value, but in fact it is ridiculous. Liberals on Twitter constantly call for President Trump and members of his administration to be assassinated. The hashtag “Rape Melania” trended on Twitter, being used more than 32,000 times. Were any of those 32,000 banned from Twitter?
Twitter doesn’t ban actual terrorist organizations, like Hamas. This cartoon is pinned to the top of the Hamas Twitter feed:
No hate there, right, Jack?
The AP gives Twitter’s spokeswoman the last word:
Rosborough said Twitter enforces its rules “impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation.”
Everyone who pays even the slightest amount of attention knows that statement is a lie. But it is good enough for the Associated Press.
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