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Line 101: − ===2020 Presidential election interference=== − {{See also|2020 Presidential election}} − Twitter imposed new [[draco]]ian censorship measures aimed at [[conservative]] users in October 2020.<ref>https://markzuckerberg.news/2020-09-30-doj-targets-big-tech-censorship-election-meddling-racketeering.html</ref> One example is labeling criticism of mail-in balloting as ‘misinformation’. [[James Woods]] commented the new labeling is clear: − {{quotebox-float|“They are closing down conservative voices completely now. Be prepared that you will no longer be able to see most of my communications, if indeed my account remains open at all. Sorry, folks, but it’s over. And they couldn’t care less what you think. This is the face of [[tyranny]].”<ref>https://www.bizpacreview.com/2020/10/12/twitters-new-policy-sparks-sad-warning-from-james-woods-sorry-folks-but-its-over-983577</ref>}} − For the first time in [[American history]] social media companies took [[direct action]] against a major U.S. publisher,<ref>https://www.theepochtimes.com/twitter-and-facebooks-assault-on-freedom-of-the-press_3540670.html</ref> ''[[The New York Post]]'' when it published a story on [[Biden-Burisma]] scandal.<ref>*https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/<br>*https://youtu.be/r4Kcc7a114I<br>*https://youtu.be/89ByR-vrnc4</ref> ''The Post'' is among the top five newspapers by circulation in the United States. Twitter locked the account of the ''New York Post'', banning the paper from posting any content at all. ''The Post's'' remained locked out of its account for 16 days. account remained locked.<ref>https://www.zerohedge.com/political/twitter-capitulates-reinstates-nypost-account-after-16-day-suspension</ref> These actions raised serious questions about many social media platforms future [[Section 230]] immunity status. − − Twitter and Facebook interfered in the [[2020 presidential election]] by blocking links to the article.<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/10/14/election-interference-facebook-suppressing-new-york-post-bombshell-story-of-damaging-hunter-biden-emails/</ref><ref>https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/10/14/bookmark-todays-date-big-tech-has-crossed-the-event-horizon-to-protect-joe-biden/</ref> Twitter and Facebook both had many foreign stockholders.<ref>"Finalized January of 2011, the transaction included a $450 million investment from Goldman Sachs, $50 million from DST, and $1 billion from unnamed foreign investors." http://whoownsfacebook.com/#Goldman<br>*https://qz.com/519388/this-saudi-prince-now-owns-more-of-twitter-than-jack-dorsey-does/</ref> Twitter banned people who posted ''The New York Post'' story,<ref>https://www.wnd.com/2020/10/twitter-now-banning-users-posting-ny-post-story-hunter-biden/</ref> including [[White House]] Press Secretary [[Kayleigh McEnany]] for sharing the article,<ref>https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/15/twitter-bans-white-house-press-secretary-for-sharing-hunter-and-joe-biden-corruption-article/</ref> locked the Trump Campaign account less than 3 weeks before the 2020 Presidential election.<ref>https://creativedestructionmedia.com/news/politics/2020/10/15/twitter-locks-trump-campaign-account-less-than-3-weeks-before-presidential-election/</ref> Rep. Jim Jordan posted the Biden-Burisma story on a federal government website after Twitter censored the House Judiciary GOP, at which point the link was promptly censored by Twitter.<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/10/15/jim-jordan-posts-hunter-biden-burisma-story-twitter-censors-house-judiciary-gop/</ref> [[Wikipedia]] editors censored the [[Hunter Biden]] bombshell, and called the ''New York Post'' an ‘unreliable’ source.<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/10/15/wikipedia-editors-censor-hunter-biden-bombshell-call-new-york-post-unreliable-source/</ref> [[Google]] also was reported to be meddling in [[U.S. Senate]] elections.<ref>https://patriotdailypress.org/2020/10/13/google-researcher-warns-google-may-be-shifting-power-to-flip-senate/</ref> The [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] announced that Twitter CEO [[Jack Dorsey]] would be [[subpoena]]ed to explain the meddling.<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/10/15/senate-judiciary-committee-will-subpoena-twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-over-ny-post-censorship/</ref> Former [[James Comey]] general counsel [[James A. Baker (DOJ)]], who was complicit in the [[Obamagate timeline|Obamagate]] and [[FISA abuse]] scandals, is Twitter's lead counsel.<ref>https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/twitter-hires-former-fbi-chief-counsel-as-deputy-lawyer/</ref> The [[RNC]] made a formal complaint to the [[Federal Elections Commission]] which reads in part, − {{quotebox-float|"Respondent’s feud with President Trump is well known, as are its frequent efforts to censor the President’s tweets and the “shadow banning” of prominent Republicans, including RNC’s Chair, [[Ronna McDaniel]], and several Republican Members of Congress. Respondent’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, and other senior executives are prolific donors to the Democrat party and other left-wing causes, with 98.7% of the company’s total political contributions going to Democrats. In addition, there appears to be a revolving door between the Biden campaign and the company, with Respondent’s Public Policy Director recently leaving to join the Biden transition team and [[Senator Kamala Harris]]’s former Press Secretary now serving as Respondent’s Senior Communications Manager."<ref>https://www.scribd.com/document/480341244/RNC-Complaint-Against-Twitter-Inc-Web#from_embed</ref>}} − Twitter failed to act on a viral message posted on its platform containing a doctored image purporting to be a text message between [[Rudy Giuliani]] and [[Ivanka Trump]].<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/10/21/twitter-allows-rachel-maddow-and-an-army-of-leftists-to-spread-rudy-giuliani-misinformation/</ref> The ''New York Post'', [[Gateway Pundit]]'', and Big League Politics all were placed on Twitter's suspension hit list the final week before election day.<ref>https://bigleaguepolitics.com/big-league-politics-gateway-pundit-new-york-post-among-news-outlets-placed-on-twitter-suspension-weeks-before-election/</ref> − − ====Violations of Section 230==== − {{see also|Social media censorship}} − − In May 2020, Twitter and its CEO Jack Dorsey came under heavy criticism for the company's recent decision to begin inserting "fact-checking" links into the tweets made by President Trump, with the company claiming those tweets to be "misleading" despite the exposure by [[Project Veritas]] of Democrat-led [[voter fraud]] proving otherwise,<ref>[https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2016/10/18/commit-voter-fraud-massive-scale-part-ii-project-veritas-investigation-clinton-network/ "How to Commit Voter Fraud on a Massive Scale": Part II of Project Veritas Investigation into Clinton Network] at Breitbart News Network</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDc8PVCvfKs Rigging the Election - Video II: Mass Voter Fraud] at Project Veritas Action YouTube channel</ref> after Trump tweeted about recent concerns over the intent by the Democrat Party to commit voter fraud at the federal, state and local levels through the use of mail-in ballots during the [[2020 Presidential election]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/leave-our-employees-out-of-this-twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-responds-to-trump-broadside 'Leave our employees out of this': Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responds to Trump broadside] at the Washington Examiner</ref> The "fact-checking" links in question lead to an "information" page containing links from liberal media outlets such as [[CNN]], [[MSNBC]], the ''[[New York Times]]'' and the ''[[Washington Post]]'', all of which indulge in publishing factually-devoid and misleading [[fake news]] hit pieces and opinion pieces masquerading as "news" regarding the mail-in vote scandal<ref>[https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/twitter-falsely-undermined-truth-thereby-misleading-american-public-senior-legal-adviser-trump-campaign-responds-twitters-blatantly-partisan-attack-president/ "Twitter Falsely Undermined the Truth... Thereby Misleading the American Public" – Senior Legal Adviser to @TeamTrump Responds to Twitter’s "Blatantly Partisan" Attack on President] at the Gateway Pundit</ref> to fit their anti-Trump narratives.<ref>[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/twitter-slaps-fact-checking-alert-to-trump-tweets Twitter slaps fact-checking alert on Trump tweets] at the Washington Examiner</ref> This decision also had the inadvertent outcome of embarrassing Twitter employee Yoel Roth, who was outed as having falsely accused Trump officials, including Presidential counselor [[Kellyanne Conway]], of being "Nazis" in past tweets he posted.<ref>[https://www.wnd.com/2020/05/twitters-chief-fact-checker-called-trump-officials-nazis/ Twitter's chief "fact-checker" called Trump officials "Nazis"] at WorldNetDaily</ref> Trump, who accused Twitter of openly trying to interfere with free elections and illegally impeding free speech, responded to Twitter's tampering with his tweets by announcing that he may place Twitter and similar social media companies under heavy regulation or shut them down altogether to punish them for their extreme liberal bias and illegal censorship (in violation of the [[First Amendment]]) of conservative speech and thought.<ref>[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/close-them-down-trump-threatens-to-regulate-or-shutter-social-media-platforms-after-twitter-fact-check 'Close them down': Trump threatens to regulate or shutter social media platforms after Twitter fact-check] at the Washington Examiner</ref> Republican Florida senator [[Marco Rubio]] also weighed in on the controversy, saying that Twitter could lose its liability protections for choosing to act as a publisher by exercising editorial control through its tampering with Trump's tweets.<ref>[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/rubio-warns-twitter-after-it-puts-fact-check-label-on-trump-tweet Rubio warns Twitter after it puts fact-check label on Trump tweet] at the Washington Examiner</ref><ref>[https://www.wnd.com/2020/05/u-s-senator-warns-twitter-lose-shield-liability/ U.S. senator warns Twitter could lose shield from liability] at WorldNetDaily</ref> − − Twitter's illegal actions led directly to Trump signing an Executive Order on May 28, 2020 with the intent of bringing Twitter, Facebook, Google (and its YouTube subsidiary) and other leftist-controlled social media companies to heel with a new policy on the conduct of those companies and putting an end to both their illegal censorship and silencing of conservatives and their liberal bias in allowing violent leftists to basically have the run of those sites without consequence or responsibility.<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2020/05/29/accountability/news-media/social-media-meet-their-match/ Social media meet their match] at Conservative News and Views</ref> Predictably, Twitter and Facebook reacted negatively toward the Trump Executive Order, with Twitter accusing the order of being "a reactionary and politicized approach to a landmark law (Section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act)" and claiming, without evidence, that "Attempts to unilaterally erode (Section 230(c)) threaten the future of online speech and Internet freedoms" while ignoring that, under the [[Obama regime]], Section 230(c) had been perverted and used by liberals in public office to impose acceptance of liberal agendas such as [[abortion on demand]], [[gender confusion]], "[[climate change]]", unfair taxation of wealth and the [[homosexual agenda]] on the American public and to themselves threaten online speech and Internet freedoms by ordering Twitter and other social media companies to illegally censor, silence, persecute and punish dissenting voices who disagreed with and opposed the imposition of those agendas. President Trump responded to Twitter's irresponsible actions with a strong rebuke directed at the company in a tweet on his Twitter account: − {{quotebox|Twitter is doing nothing about all of the lies & [[CCP propaganda war|propaganda being put out by China]] or the Radical Left Democrat Party. They have targeted Republicans, Conservatives & the President of the United States. [[Section 230]] should be revoked by Congress. Until then, it will be regulated!<ref>https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266326065833824257</ref>}} − Despite the Trump Executive Order, however, Twitter and its employees continued to openly defy the President and engage in illegal censorship and lawless behavior by hiding visibility of the content of two tweets by Trump (and later, taking things even further by illegally deleting recent Trump tweets entirely<ref>[https://nationalfile.com/breaking-twitter-censors-trump-by-completely-removing-his-tweet-for-first-time/ BREAKING: Twitter Censors Trump By Completely Removing His Tweet For First Time]</ref>) while hypocritically continuing to allow openly violent leftist tweets to remain intact,<ref>Multiple references: − *[https://www.wnd.com/2020/05/twitter-censors-trump-countless-violent-tweets-remain-active/ Twitter censors Trump while countless violent tweets remain active] at WorldNetDaily − *[https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/29/twitter-hides-trump-minneapolis-tweet-accuses-him-glorifying-violence/ Twitter Censors Trump Minneapolis Tweet, Accuses Him of "Glorifying Violence"] at Breitbart News Network − *[https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/06/23/twitter-censors-president-trump-again-over-warning-to-lawless-agitators/ Twitter Censors President Trump (Again) over Warning to Lawless Agitators] at Breitbart News Network</ref> even allowing criminal looters and rioters to use the site to openly coordinate their criminal behavior while their supporters advised them of looting targets<ref>[https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/05/31/twitter-allows-looters-to-coordinate-criminal-behavior-while-it-declares-blacklivesmatter/ Twitter Allows Looters to Coordinate Criminal Behavior While It Declares ‘#BlackLivesMatter’]</ref> and while Twitter did nothing to stop them despite numerous reports against those tweets, which left Twitter and its employees, including Jack Dorsey himself, open to criminal, civil and regulatory liability for their defiant and irresponsible actions. − − Rep. [[Matt Gaetz]] filed a complaint with the [[Federal Election Commission]] alleging election meddling in the [[2020 presidential election]]. The complaint reads, − {{quotebox|Twitter has taken upon itself to free ride on one of the President’s Tweets as a campaigning activity. The social media platform is overstepping boundaries and setting aside its privileged role as a mere ‘interactive computer service,’ and instead acting as a ‘shadow contributor’ to the [[Democratic National Committee]]. By trespassing its role as a [Section] 230 protected forum, Twitter has acted as a campaign contributor, and not as a mere interactive computer service.<ref>https://dailycaller.com/2020/05/29/matt-gaetz-shadow-contributor-twitter-democrats-fec-complaint-fact-check/</ref>}} − A study from the [[Media Research Center]] showed that Twitter and Facebook censored President Donald Trump and the president’s affiliated campaign accounts at least 65 times in 2019 and 2020, while leaving Biden untouched.<ref>https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/19/new-study-shows-facebook-and-twitter-censored-trump-65-times-biden-zero/</ref> − − ====Potential revocation of non-publisher immunity==== − On May 15, 2021, federal judge Mark L. Wolf announced that he would hold a hearing on May 20 and ordered Twitter executives to appear at the hearing to make Twitter explain whether it is a truly private company or is acting on behalf of the State to illegally censor conservative voices.<ref name="Speech Police">[https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/05/federal-judge-signals-may-end-twitters-immunity-speech-police-worried/ HUGE BREAKING NEWS: Federal Judge Signals He May END Twitter’s Immunity in Dr. Shiva Case – Speech Police in Panic — Watch Hearing Live on May 20] at the Gateway Pundit</ref> The hearing comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed against Twitter by Dr. [[Shiva Ayyadurai]], who ran as the Republican candidate for the US Senate in Massachusetts in the [[2020 presidential election]] and whose tweets pointing out [[Democrat election fraud]] were censored by Twitter; it was later discovered that the tweets were deleted on orders from employees of the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, leading Ayyadurai to file the suit, pointing out that his First Amendment rights were violated when the Democrat-controlled Massachusetts government silenced him to affect an election. By quoting the connected cases of ''Manhattan Cmty. Access Corp. v. Halleck''<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/587/17-1702/ Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck]</ref> and ''Blum v. Yaretsky''<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/991/ Blum v. Yaretsky]</ref> in the upcoming hearing, this could have spelled the end of Section 230 immunity protections for Twitter and other liberal Big Tech companies (which has given Big Tech immunity from lawsuits, but has allowed them to abuse that immunity at will through its illegal censorship of conservative voices and factual information while allowing liberal views (including violent posts, liberal hate speech and even death threats) and [[fake news]] from the [[liberal media]] free reign, as well as allowing liberal politicians to use Big Tech as a conduit to silence political opponents via special portals offered to government officials, which they then use to flag and delete any content they do not like). The Gateway Pundit pointed out in its report on this story: − {{cquote|Dr. Ayyadurai is claiming that the Constitution trumps CDA 230 and the government cannot outsource to private actors to silence people’s speech they disagree with, and that the government and Twitter are acting together as one: that Twitter is essentially a state actor.<ref name="Speech Police"/>}} − − ====''Trump v. Twitter''==== − [[File:Twitter censorship.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Twitter censorship of the Russia-Ukraine war.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/twitter-removes-russian-embassy-tweet-on-mariupol-bombing</ref>]] − In the case of ''Trump v. Twitter'', filed in July 2021, attorneys for President Trump argued, − {{quotebox-float|"[The companies have] unprecedented power over the content of public discourse to censor constitutionally protected speech with impunity, resulting in a grave threat to the freedom of expression and to democracy itself."<ref>https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-sues-tech-giants-for-booting-him-from-their-sites/</ref>}} − On Apr 29, 2022, days after [[Twitter]] takeovet by Elon Musk, Trump posted "I'm back."<ref>Callie Patteson, [https://nypost.com/2022/04/29/trump-posts-on-truth-social-days-after-musk-twitter-takeover/amp/ Trump posts on TRUTH Social days after Twitter takeover: ‘I’M BACK’], ''NY Post'', April 29, 2022.</ref> - invoking one of his most viral Twitter moments in his first post on [[TRUTH Social|TRUTH Social]] since the platform, founded by the former president, fully launched. − − ====Hunter Biden laptop==== − Twitter justified blocking the ''New York Post's'' scoop on the Biden Burisma scandal claiming it violated Twitter's "Hacked Material Policy." The policy “prohibits the use of our service to distribute content obtained without authorization” because, they said, they “don’t want to incentivize hacking by allowing Twitter to be used as distribution for possibly illegally obtained materials.” That standard would result in the banning from the platform the ''[[Pentagon Papers]]'' which ultimately toppled [[Richard Nixon]], the [[Snowden]] reporting, the [[Panama Papers]], the [[DNC]] and [[John Podesta|Podesta emails]] that exposed corruption and forced the 2016 resignation of the top five officials of the [[Democratic National Committee]], and President Trump's tax returns. −
→2020 Presidential election interference
==Censorship==
==Censorship==
===Russia-Ukraine war===
===Russia-Ukraine war===
{{See also|Ukraine propaganda war}}
{{See also|Ukraine propaganda war}}