Independent journalist Bari Weiss rolled out the fifth installment of the ‘Twitter Files’ on Monday, in which she delved into data revealing how the platform made the decision to ban former President Donald Trump.
The communications data showed that officials and staff were eager to bar Trump from Twitter after the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, but could not find the president directly violating their policies in his tweets.
Regardless, he was banned from Twitter on January 8, 2021. Weiss’ reporting shows that the staff were beyond elated.
33. Many at Twitter were ecstatic. pic.twitter.com/wgxuwQBLkU
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) December 12, 2022
But earlier before the celebration among staff—jubilant that they had taken it upon themselves to censor the head of state of one of the most powerful and democratic countries in the world—at least one employee expressed concern.
7. There were dissenters inside Twitter.
“Maybe because I am from China,” said one employee on January 7, “I deeply understand how censorship can destroy the public conversation.” pic.twitter.com/LtonK0gfS3
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) December 12, 2022
A person from China probably understood how silencing people, whether citizens or leaders, could be problematic for a free society and said so.
Still, authoritarians are gonna authoritarian! Freedom, schmeedom! Woohoo!
The action stood. Weiss made clear that dissenters like the China-originating employee were in the clear minority.
8. But voices like that one appear to have been a distinct minority within the company. Across Slack channels, many Twitter employees were upset that Trump hadn’t been banned earlier.
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) December 12, 2022
Those on Left and Right often accuse the other side of being ‘authoritarian’ in ways that may be sometimes accurate but are also often hyperbolic.
But when a person coming from an actual authoritarian regime worried that a questionable action his company took hit too close to his former home, that concern should probably have been taken more seriously.
In a more liberal environment, it probably would have been.
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