As promised, The Daily Wire started streaming the documentary “What Is a Woman?” on Twitter shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday. Within minutes, my retweet of the post containing the stream disappeared. When users accessed the pinned tweet on The Daily Wire’s account, it looked like this:
The harmful content tag prevented users from sharing or commenting on the post. Needless to say, Daily Wire staff went to work immediately, amplifying the fact that Twitter employees censored Matt Walsh’s documentary. Elon Musk responded directly, saying the issue would be fixed on Friday. He informed them that the film would not be promoted or associated with advertising. He also referred to the film as “sensitive content.”
Musk’s answers received significant pushback. The most concise assessment came from Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi:
There are no possible legitimate grounds for suppression of “What is a Woman?” by @MattWalshBlog. The movie contains no threats, no trick editing, and no hate speech — its satirical point is made using the statements of trans activists. If this can be suppressed, anything can. https://t.co/A1f2vUPYPu
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) June 2, 2023
In addition to leaving Twitter’s terms open to interpretation inside its very left-leaning hallways, it makes Musk’s vision of turning Twitter into X, the everything app, terrifying. Currently, only some content creators are able to monetize their content, and only some voices will be permitted. Yet Musk wants people to pay to have their voice throttled with a Twitter Blue subscription?
Suppose some users can be digitally disappeared or be prevented from generating revenue based on the sensitivities of individual Twitter employees. What else will their whims be able to prevent users who demonstrate “wrongthink” from doing in the “everything app”? Like Chinese dissidents, will they be prevented from booking an Airbnb and plane tickets? Prohibited from paying for a Daily Wire subscription?
Glenn Beck has been criticized for asserting that social media censorship could create digital ghettos, but after Thursday night, it is easy to see what he has described. The events should also make Tucker Carlson question whether he can monetize his content on the platform. And while the tech glitches were forgivable during Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign announcement, why should Republican candidates believe they will get fair treatment on Twitter now?
During the melee, reports surfaced that Twitter’s vice president of Trust and Safety, Ella Irwin, abruptly resigned Thursday afternoon. According to Reuters:
Irwin, who joined Twitter in June 2022, took over as head of the trust and safety team in November when previous head Yoel Roth resigned. She oversaw content moderation.
An email to Twitter returned an automated reply with a poop emoji. Irwin declined further comment and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Classy.
It appears that Musk has a persistent middle management problem. It is astonishing that the flags were placed on Daily Wire’s content after Musk, who remains executive chairman, publicly stated that the decision to pull a promotion agreement and restrict the content was a mistake. Daily Wire is one of the largest right-leaning media outlets. It is unfathomable that a decision to pull an agreement and place specific programming in the system to suppress their film was made without input from Musk or his new CEO, Linda Yaccarino.
It also appears that Musk’s own vision of Twitter as a town square where meaningful and even contentious conversations should occur is as fluid as the radical trans movement wants you to believe gender is. Regarding “What Is a Woman?” he granted the radical premise that discussing the problems with men in women’s spaces and risks of medical transition are “sensitive content, ” even when the extreme point of view is presented.
By morning, it seems Musk may have figured out how poorly his response to the issues encountered by Daily Wire played with anyone not all-in on transing kids. On Friday morning, he actively promoted Daily Wire’s documentary to his 142 million followers:
Every parent should watch this https://t.co/pIp6UP6vq8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2023
If Musk believes the film’s message is so important, why can’t it be promoted on the platform or associated with ads? He also commented on the Biden administration’s stance on laws prohibiting the medical transition of minors:
Insane https://t.co/y1cz26vCzK
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2023
Thursday night, he pledged to actively lobby to criminalize making severe, irreversible changes to children below the age of consent. Musk also called those who advocate medical transition utterly contemptible in a tweet. He reiterated his position opposing childhood medical transition Friday morning, which he has clearly articulated publicly in the past.
Despite this supportive commentary and behavior, Musk’s decision to limit the documentary and restrict advertising left many users who were hopeful about his leadership of the platform frustrated and angry. Some started posting screenshots of canceled Twitter Blue subscriptions. Yet, the usually dour Matt Walsh took a glass—half-full approach. He noted that the harmful content tag was no longer on the stream and added:
Well, it didn't happen exactly how I expected but I'd say we successfully coopted the first day of Pride Month
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 2, 2023
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