On Thursday, Twitter permanently suspended conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and InfoWars from Twitter and Periscope. This followed Jones’ altercation with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) outside of the hearing with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Some have accused Twitter of applying a double standard, however, since both notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan and the terrorist organization Hamas still have accounts on the platform.
“Today, we permanently suspended [Alex Jones] and [InfoWars] from Twitter and Periscope. We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts’ past violations,” Twitter Safety tweeted.
Today, we permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope. We took this action based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts’ past violations. https://t.co/gckzUAV8GL
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 6, 2018
Twitter also sent a menacing warning, suggesting that if Alex Jones or InfoWars attempt to create other accounts, those too would be removed.
We will continue to evaluate reports we receive regarding other accounts potentially associated with @realalexjones or @infowars and will take action if content that violates our rules is reported or if other accounts are utilized in an attempt to circumvent their ban.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 6, 2018
The removal came one day after Jones accosted Sen. Rubio in a notorious altercation. Jones touched Rubio and called him a “frat boy.” Rubio warned him not to touch him again. Later that day, he accosted CNN reporter Oliver Darcy and streamed the encounter through Periscope.
Last month, Apple, Facebook, Spotify, and YouTube removed Alex Jones and InfoWars from their platforms. As PJ Media’s Stephen Green put it, “I don’t have much use for InfoWars, and even less for Alex Jones,” but this is a culture war.
In its message explaining the bans, Facebook explained the removals. “We have taken [the pages] down for glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy, and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies.”
InfoWars may have glorified violence — as Green pointed out, Alex Jones “is a thug,” even to Michelle Malkin — but when it comes to “dehumanizing language” against minority groups, Alex Jones and InfoWars are far from alone.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has dubbed Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Farrakhan “the leading anti-Semite in America,” who for 30 years “has espoused and promoted anti-Semitism and racism” and “has repeatedly alleged that the Jewish people were responsible for the slave trade, as well as the 9/11 attacks.”
The ADL compiled a video of Farrakhan’s most anti-Semitic statements. Among other things, the NOI leader declared, “You are not the chosen of God. You are the chosen of Satan.”
Farrakhan remains on Twitter, although the social media site did revoke his “verified” blue check mark in June.
Alex Jones may be disgusting, but is he really worse than Louis Farrakhan? Perhaps Twitter refuses to go after Farrakhan because he is far more mainstream, and connected to the Left. After all, this notorious anti-Semite stood near former President Bill Clinton at Aretha Franklin’s funeral. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) warmly embraced Farrakhan. Is Twitter afraid it would be called racist for removing this anti-Semite?
Similarly, the political party and terrorist organization Hamas still has an account on Twitter. Hamas has called for multiple “days of rage” to protest President Donald Trump’s opening of a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. In March, the Hamas Twitter account announced a “Friday of rage.”
https://twitter.com/HamasInfoEn/status/974256452650045441
In May, when the U.S. Embassy opened, Hamas “protesters” stormed Israel en masse, leaving 58 dead, including a baby. These violent “protesters” threw rocks, flaming kites, and Molotov cocktails. They also attempted to plant a bomb. “We are excited to storm and get inside … whatever is possible, to kill, throw stones,” 23-year-old Mohammed Mansoura, a protester, told The Washington Post.
Hamas is still on Twitter.
Josh Jordan, a contributor for Forbes and National Review, highlighted Twitter’s double standard. “This is the problem for Twitter,” Jordan tweeted. “Alex Jones is a monster, but Louis Farrakhan and Hamas are both vile as well. So at the end of the day, Twitter is subjectively deciding which accounts to ban without any consistency, and that is going to only increase the charges of bias.”
And this is the problem for Twitter. Alex Jones is a monster, but Louis Farrakhan and Hamas are both vile as well.
So at the end of the day, Twitter is subjectively deciding which accounts to ban without any consistency, and that is going to only increase the charges of bias. https://t.co/FnVTnvE8UE
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) September 7, 2018
This is far from the first incident to suggest a bias against conservatives on Twitter. The social media company briefly suspended Instapundit in 2016, and so many other conservative accounts. After Prager University sued Google and YouTube for restricting access to their videos — a problem that has only grown since — Twitter prevented PragerU from “promoting” any of their tweets or videos.
Last month, a former Reagan anti-trust lawyer, Larry Klayman, filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Facebook, Apple, and Google for discriminating against conservatives and breaking anti-trust laws. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will meet with state attorneys general this month to discuss similar issues.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member