Earlier this week, protesters yelled obscenities and called for violence while standing outside of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s house. The incident was captured on video, and McConnell’s “Team Mitch” campaign Twitter account posted a video clip documenting the protesters’ threats.
However, Twitter determined that the video “violated our violent threats policy, specifically threats involving physical safety,” froze the account, and told Fox News that the account would remain locked until the video was removed.
McConnell-Twitter drama explodes
McConnell’s campaign and the wider GOP fought back hard, accusing the social media giant of political bias for censoring the video while allowing #MassacreMitch to trend. The National Republican Senatorial Committee said it would stop spending money on Twitter until the matter had been “adequately addressed,” and it wasn’t alone.
Richard Walter, a high-ranking figure in the Republican National Committee said Thursday that the RNC and the Trump campaign would be also be joining the Twitter boycott “until they address this disgusting bias.”
The @GOP and @TeamTrump stand with the @Team_Mitch and the @NRSC. Any future ad $ either organization was planning to spend with @Twitter has been halted until they address this disgusting bias. https://t.co/IVXjjDkizA
— Richard Walters (@rww_gop) August 8, 2019
By Friday morning, Twitter relented. Saying it had “reviewed this case more closely,” Twitter unlocked McConnell’s campaign account and said that the “video will be visible on the service with a sensitive media interstitial.”
You can view it for yourself below (warning: contains profanity):
Last night, an angry left-wing mob of Amy McGrath supporters stormed Senator McConnell’s Louisville home screaming obscenities and hoping someone would ‘just stab the motherfucker in the heart.’ pic.twitter.com/Ygo1mbQSk5
— Team Mitch (@Team_Mitch) August 6, 2019
Double standard
The decision to freeze McConnell’s account seems to fit a pattern; as many conservatives have pointed out, Twitter appears to maintain a double standard when it comes to enforcement. The platform prohibits doxxing — publishing personal information for the purpose of inciting targeted harassment, or worse — and yet Democratic Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro remains active on Twitter despite having published a list of Trump supporters’ names and information.
Pennsylvania Democrat Brian Sims put out a video of himself harassing three pro-life teenagers and an elderly woman while offering money to anyone who could identify them. Sims still has his account.
UPDATE: Watch PA Rep @BrianSimsPA offer up $100 for the identities & addresses of 3 TEENAGERS who are fighting for the lives of preborn children.
This is despicable. pic.twitter.com/96JC9b8jQB
— Live Action (@LiveAction) May 6, 2019
Last month, Canadian free speech activist Lindsay Shepherd had her account temporarily deleted for identifying trans activist Jessica Yaniv as a man. Yaniv had called Shepherd’s child ugly and mocked a medical condition that she suffers from. Yaniv wasn’t punished.
Twitter also bans the use of racist language, and yet New York Times editor Sarah Jeong put out hundreds of racist tweets targeting white people, many of which are still up.
oh man it’s kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men
— sarah jeong (@sarahjeong) July 24, 2014
White House considers taking action
Last month, the White House hosted a social media summit in which content creators spoke about online bias. However, there is evidence that more drastic action could be in store.
According to Politico, the Trump administration is drafting an executive order to address the issue head-on. It reported that three White House officials have confirmed the existence of the order, although none would speak to its specific contents. If the claims are true, then a Republican advertising boycott could be the least of Twitter’s worries.
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