Twitter is censoring reporting on Ukrainian Nazis on the pretext of "abusive behavior"
Twitter is censoring reporting on Ukrainian Nazis on the pretext of "abusive behavior"
I've been locked out of my Twitter account over this post.
Twitter has locked me out of my account and has prevented me from posting the following tweet, which they claim is “abusive.” They are also threatening to suspend my account altogether if I post similar things in the future.
Please share this post on Twitter to push back against the company’s censorship
I attached the above photos to my tweet. Although they did not initially say as much, one day on, Twitter are now claiming the tweet was “abusive”.
As you can see, the post is entirely factual, accurate and sourced, and not at all abusive.
I obtained the photos either from mainstream reporting or from primary sources — NATO’s official Twitter account, Tarrant’s manifesto (which is available online) and even Ukraine’s foreign ministry itself.
Yet Twitter’s automated systems have apparently deemed the tweet in violation of their rules — although they did not initially specify which rule, and have still not explained how the post violates their rules on “abuse”.
Twitter’s rules appear not to apply to NATO or the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The post has been hidden by Twitter and replaced with the above notice.
My Twitter account (which has almost 59,000 followers) is currently still viewable, but I can no longer post new tweets. Indeed, I have been locked out of even viewing anything on Twitter while signed in. Every time I sign in, I get the notice at the top of this post, demanding I delete the tweet and acknowledge it as being in violation of their rules.
I appealed Twitter’s (apparently automatic) lock of my account:
That was yesterday.
Today, even as I was writing this post, I received a second email from Twitter in which they say my account “will remain limited for the allotted time” due to what they claim are “violations of the Twitter Rules, specifically our rules against abusive behavior.”
Are Twitter therefore claiming I have “abused” NATO or “abused” Nazis by posting this completely factual, non-abusive tweet?
Their email today claiming “abusive behavior” does not directly address my tweet. But it does cite the same case number as I was given when I lodged my appeal. As such, they appear to have rejected my appeal.
The lock on my account happened literally instantly as I posted the tweet — I got an email notice right away. This is the reason I suspect it must have been an automated ban.
Triggered by what, I have not been told.
Unfortunately, this censorious lack of transparency is a growing problem with Twitter in recent years — one of the unaccountable Silicon Valley monopolies which dominate and control what are in effect de facto public spaces.
According to China podcaster Carl Zha, researcher and analyst Brian Berletic has had his Twitter account suspended altogether, after posting another image of a Ukrainian solider wearing the Nazi Black Sun symbol on his uniform.
Since it’s now been a day with no action by Twitter to reverse this ban I’m asking you, my readers, to please share this article all over social media, especially on Twitter.
Please tweet demanding that @Twitter, @TwitterSafety and @TwitterComms reverse this censorship and allow the tweet.
I would prefer not to be forced into the position of clicking “delete” on that tweet — which Twitter claims would constitute an “acknowledgement that your Tweet violated the Twitter Rules”.
As far as I can see it did not.
Can we can put enough public pressure on Twitter to force them to reverse this censorship? It’s unlikely, but worth a shot.
See below for some of my reporting on the issue of Nazis in Ukraine and how they have been integrated into that country’s armed forces.
The astute reader may recall Youtube's incidental purge of a great deal of history content when they enabled an algorithm targeting footage from WWII, apparently in an attempt to target "Nazis".
These are the bitter fruits of sweeping censorship implemented by imbeciles. I would not be surprised to learn that Twitter has implemented a blanket ban on that manifesto image.
Hi Asa, this is Q. Anthony Omene. I was hoping to get in contact with you to talk about this, please hit me up via e-mail when you get a moment. qaomene at rznwa dot com