Twitter is another Big Tech Free Speech Hypocrite
Social media platforms and technology continue to expand more and more into our daily lives. Billions of people use social media as a source of communication, entertainment, and news. The power these sites have continues to grow at an exponential rate.
The Pew Research Center found that 53% of Americans get news from social media platforms, with the largest being Twitter at 59%. As of late, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the social media platform from the Twitter ban of former President Donald Trump. The social media conglomerate is a private company and has the right to terminate or ban accounts that they believe violate their terms and conditions. This article focuses on the double standard against conservative voices on the platform, not the legality of the issue.
An example of this is the New York Post article on Hunter Biden. Not only did they remove it, but they entirely banned all users’ ability to share or tweet the Post’s article—even limiting it in the private messaging feature. Additionally, Twitter temporarily locked the New York Post’s Twitter account. With the amount of focus Twitter put on this specific event, one might be wondering how they have handled other information that violates their terms and conditions.
If Twitter’s goal is to truly stop hate speech and make Twitter a more acceptable platform for all, then why is current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro who has been in the news for imprisoning opposing politicians and also recently charged with narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug-trafficking, still able to tweet freely? Or the violent and radical anti-fascist Antifa group which has constantly been in the news for the damage it has done to Portland, along with numerous other cities across the United States?
Of the donations made by Twitter’s employees, a whopping 98.58% of political contributions went to Democrats. This is the employee’s individual choice to choose which party they support, but one is inclined to wonder if this is affecting how and whose tweet they monitor and deem inappropriate.
Twitter is a private company and has the ability to remove posts without it violating the 1st amendment. The question becomes whether all tweets are being monitored fairly and if they will hold all people accountable regardless of political beliefs or positioning. Twitter is there to be a social media platform for all, and not to push a certain agenda.
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John Whitmore
