No, Trump’s Twitter Ban Isn’t “Censorship”

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Over a third of Americans are concerned about censorship after Donald Trump’s ban from Twitter and a number of social media websites.

Are they forgetting that the ban was in response to the violent events that occurred on January 6th at the Capitol? Does Twitter not have the responsibility to make sure their app is used in a safe and ethical way?

For years, far-right extremists and white supremacists have been using social media as a weapon to further their political agenda or to spread hate and xenophobia. After studying over 500 million tweets, NYU found that people with accounts promoting hate were far more likely to be violent offline, whether they were inciting violence or spreading hate and xenophobia. The issue is only exacerbated when algorithms of many of these social media websites prioritize content with more engagement so the harmful messages spread quicker and to more people.

However, Trump’s recent ban, as well as the ban of 70,000 QAnon accounts are a huge step at tackling the issue. 

As Twitter cracks down on those who violate the guidelines, more white supremacists and racists on it are deciding to leave.

Shortly after Trump’s Twitter ban, the late Rush Limbaugh deactivated his Twitter account. The radio show host’s popularity could only be credited to the hateful, outrageous, and downright false information he spread through the radio and later through the internet. 

This is the guy who tried to dismiss the struggles and hardships of African-Americans by saying, “They’re 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?” and also tried to justify slavery by saying it “had its merits” and at least “the streets were safer at dark.” This is the man who said that James Earl Ray, Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassin, “deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor.”

That’s who Rush Limbaugh was.

Limbaugh knew what he was doing. After seeing the former president’s Twitter ban, it was clear to see what kind of content would be tolerated on the app, and he saw that the message he spread was not a reflection of such content. So, he left. 

And when many flee the social media websites, their large following goes with them.

Unlike Limbaugh, Trump’s Former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, chose to remain on Twitter. It is important to note that Giuliani did not represent Trump during his impeachment trials since he participated in the crime of inciting violence as well. It didn’t help that he had 1.3 million followers on Twitter.

We’ve picked out a few of Giuliani’s tweets to spare you the trouble: 

  • “Antifa and BLM attack DC like they helped organize the January 6th attack on congress. However, so far their role is being concealed.”
  • “Does the fact that President Biden and his family made millions from China mean we can’t tell the truth to the world that the virus spread around the world because the CCP covered it up for a month, maybe a lot longer. For the sake of the truth let’s call it CCP virus.”
  • “The impeachment proceedings today prove that the current Democrat party is so rooted in hatred it is willing to distort video, forge documents, lie, and act like world-class hypocrites.”

Not only that, all of these comments attacking Black Lives Matter, spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic, and lying about the Capitol riots are only three of the many hateful things Giuliani says on Twitter.

Two weeks after the initial bans on January 8th and surrounding Biden’s inaugural date, Giuliani had lost about 140,000 followers.

People like Limbaugh and Giuliani use their platforms to spread hate and misinformation about marginalized groups. However, the recent bans have made one thing clear: it’s time to stop. 

Twitter has labeled itself as: “the free speech wing of the free-speech party.” Twitter claims they will prohibit targeted abuse and harassment and will suspend any account that violates their terms and conditions. This includes violations of the Hateful Conduct policy, Glorification of Violence Policy, and many more ground rules Donald Trump and many conservatives choose to ignore.

Basically, what Twitter doesn’t want is any hate speech, the praise of violence, or really anything that puts the safety and wellbeing of people in jeopardy. And to those who claim that the recent bans are a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech, the constitution doesn’t protect hate speech. Neither should Twitter. 

With far-right extremist groups being responsible for 73% of domestic extremist-related fatalities, it’s time to make a change.

Hate leads to violence.

As more white supremacists and radical conservatives storm away from Twitter as a result of bans, we can see that what Twitter has been trying to do is already in effect. Now, people like Giuliani lose their followings as more outraged conservatives leave Twitter and other social media apps.

No, Donald Trump’s Twitter ban isn’t censorship. It’s a step toward making sure that what happened on January 6th never happens again.

Citations

Bergengruen, Vera, and W.J. Hennigan. “America’s Lost Battle Against White Nationalist Terrorism.” Time, Time, 8 Aug. 2019, time.com/5647304/white-nationalist-terrorism-united-states/.

Bergengruen, Vera, and W.J. Hennigan. “America’s Lost Battle Against White Nationalist Terrorism.” Time, Time, 8 Aug. 2019, time.com/5647304/white-nationalist-terrorism-united-states/.

Communications, N. (2019, June 24). Hate speech on Twitter predicts frequency of real-life hate crimes. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/june/hate-speech-on-twitter-predicts-frequency-of-real-life-hate-crim.html

Guynn, Jessica. “Twitter Suspends Alt-Right Accounts.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 17 Nov. 2016, www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/11/15/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/93943194/.

Guynn, Jessica. “Twitter’s Trump Ban after Capitol Attack Supported by Most Americans but Not Most Republicans, Harris Poll Says.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 13 Jan. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/01/12/trump-ban-twitter-facebook-capitol-attack-insurrection-harris-poll/6643122002/.

Lennard, Natasha. “Facebook’s Ban on Far-Left Pages Is an Extension of Trump Propaganda.” The Intercept, 20 Aug. 2020, theintercept.com/2020/08/20/facebook-bans-antifascist-pages/.

Murdock, Jason. “Rudy Giuliani’s Twitter Following Drops by Tens of Thousands after Joe Biden Inauguration.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 10 Feb. 2021, www.newsweek.com/rudy-giuliani-twitter-account-following-drops-thousands-joe-biden-inauguration-1568183.

Porter, Jon. “Twitter Bans 70,000 QAnon Accounts as Conservatives Report Lost Followers.” The Verge, The Verge, 12 Jan. 2021, www.theverge.com/2021/1/12/22226503/twitter-qanon-account-suspension-70000-capitol-riots.

Staff, newsone. “Rush Limbaugh’s Most Racist Quotes: A Timeline Of Destructive Commentary.” NewsOne, NewsOne, 18 Feb. 2021, newsone.com/16051/top-10-racist-limbaugh-quotes/.

Tyko, Kelly. “Rush Limbaugh Deactivates His Twitter Account after President Trump Permanently Banned.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 13 Jan. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/01/08/rush-limbaugh-leaves-twitter-following-trump-ban/6605864002/.

Varghese, Sanjana. “Twitter Has Purged Left-Wing Accounts with No Explanation.” WIRED UK, WIRED UK, 17 Oct. 2018, www.wired.co.uk/article/twitter-political-account-ban-us-mid-term-elections.