Twitter changed policy to ban Trump, ignored calls for violence from other leaders

By 
 December 12, 2022

Twitter owner Elon Musk caused a political earthquake earlier this month when he released company documents to journalists Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss showing how the company helped Democrats during the 2020 campaign.

Yet more material emerged over the weekend, and it vindicates former President Donald Trump's claim of being kicked off Twitter for political reasons. 

According to Breitbart, journalist Michael Shellenberger detailed the evidence in a series of tweets on Sunday, and they show how Twitter staff manufactured justifications for banning Trump in January of 2021 while showing no concerns over free speech.

Twitter first considered removing Matt Gaetz

Shellenberger noted that the move came following the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, with pressure being brought to bear by figures like former First Lady Michelle Obama and left-wing groups such as the Anti-Defamation League.

It also came after Twitter executive Yoel Roth considered banning Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz despite having no clear grounds to do so.

Later, Roth announced on January 8 that a change in policy was being made to Twitter's "public-interest exceptions policy" in order to explicitly target Trump's account.

Shellenberger explained that the policy allows for elected officials to make an otherwise prohibited statement "if it directly contributes to understanding or discussion of a matter of public concern."

Twitter banned Trump but ignored violations by other leaders

Meanwhile, Barri Weiss followed up on Shellenberger's disclosure with more tweets of her own on Monday, and they show that while Twitter was quick to silence Trump, it was willing to tolerate far more egregious conduct from other world leaders.

This included open calls for genocide, such as Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referring to Israel as "a malignant cancerous tumor" that must be "removed and eradicated"

What's more, an October of 2020 tweet from former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad endorse the mass murder of French people.

Twitter subsequently deleted Mohamad's tweet but took no further action against his account. Meanwhile, Ali Khamenei's tweet was not taken down.

"But," she added, "Twitter executives did ban Trump, even though key staffers said that Trump had not incited violence—not even in a 'coded' way."

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson
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