Twitter began a massive purge of users on Monday the company claims violate its new terms of service.
As predicted, nearly every account that was banned by Twitter was affiliated with the alt-right or far right.
White nationalist Jared Taylor, his group American Renaissance, and Britain First leader Jayda Fransen, the woman who posted the “Islamophobic” videos famously retweeted by President Trump, were some of the entities that received the boot from Twitter.
The standard by which Twitter decided which users were no longer welcome seemed remarkably arbitrary, as noted by a few observers like right-wing watcher Will Sommer.
The entire alt-right wasn’t banned, only random accounts, some of whom appeared to go out of their way to conform to Twitter’s terms of service.
While the standard for Twitter’s purge is unknown, it is pretty obvious the new rules aren’t being equally applied to any left-wing accounts.
The case made for the social media platform to ban so many accounts is that harassment and violent racist rhetoric is out of control on the website. Surprisingly enough, plenty of leftists engage in that behavior on social media as well.
But that seems to only be a problem Twitter cares about if it comes from the Right, as the example of Federal Communications chairman Ajit Pai proves.
Hundreds of left-wing users have recently taken to issuing death threats and other promises of violence to Pai over his decision to scrap net neutrality regulations.
Pai, an Indian-American, told The Daily Caller last week that he was shocked at the amount of racism he received on social media for his decision. (RELATED: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Reflects On Racist Backlash)
Here are a few examples of leftists tweeting racist death threats at him.
I fucking despise this fucking curry nigger @AjitPaiFCC Go back to India motherfucker https://t.co/cfGtmx5Eud
— USSR (@GlassPottato) December 16, 2017
@AjitPaiFCC I will kill you Ajit Pai you fucking nigger
— JK (@josdkoger) December 18, 2017
“I’m an Indian nigger, someone please assassinate me lol”. – @AjitPaiFCC 2017 pic.twitter.com/ugrqYF88ri
— Rydro (@RydroOfficial) November 27, 2017
Guys we got to do something about ajit pai we cannot let this sand Nigger take away net neutrality I will not stand for this tyranny on our rights.
— Godlevel (@xvengence0054) December 11, 2017
I want to murder this man.
I’m not even being memey or cute. This is some, if I ever see him it’s on sight type business.
Keep me away from Ajit Pai. I dunno what I’ll do. https://t.co/tvPq2ZADLL
— n!ne. (@Nine0uh) December 14, 2017
It would be justifiable homicide as he has committed treason against the american people. you could never find 12 people in this country that would convict someone for it.
— joseph schneider (@schneider1492) December 15, 2017
As you can see, all of these users are still active on Twitter following Monday’s purge.
Pai’s children have been threatened, his home address has been doxxed and tons of people are wanting to kill him because of the false notion he destroyed internet freedom. But Twitter does nothing to stop this dangerous rhetoric from continuing.
Maybe it has something to do with Pai calling Twitter out for its censorious policies. In speeches refuting accusations that net neutrality ensures free speech survives on the internet, the FCC chair made a point to highlight how Twitter, a big supporter of net neutrality, censors views on the Right and undermines its own claims of supporting free speech. (RELATED: Ajit Pai Is Right On Big Tech’s Threat To An Open Internet)
“When it comes to an open Internet, Twitter is part of the problem,” Pai said in one speech last month. “The company has a viewpoint and uses that viewpoint to discriminate.”
“[T]o say the least, the company appears to have a double standard when it comes to suspending or deverifying conservative users’ accounts as opposed to those of liberal users. This conduct is many things, but it isn’t fighting for an open Internet,” he added in that speech.
Monday’s purge only further confirms Pai’s criticism of Twitter.
Some conservatives may not be worried by the purge because it only affects white nationalists and other extremists. But what’s stopping Twitter from going after respectable conservatives who criticize Islam and mainstream immigration reduction groups?
Twitter has already blocked ads from the Center of Immigration Studies — what if Twitter decides to agree with the Southern Poverty Law Center that that group is too hateful to deserve a platform? (RELATED: Google Is Using Its Immense Power To Censor Content That Doesn’t Fit Its Political Goals)
It is certain, however, that Twitter’s move Monday had nothing to do with stopping harassment. Pai will still be getting a flood of death threats today and every day.
It’s all about suppressing views Twitter disagrees with.
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