Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says InfoWars’ Alex Jones is safe on his platform — for now.
Apple, Facebook, Spotify and YouTube all silenced the controversial pundit this week in efforts to combat “hate speech,” but Mr. Dorsey refrained. The reason: “He hasn’t violated our rules.”
Twitter’s CEO said that “straightforward principles” should guide social media companies instead of arbitrary capitulations to “outside pressure.”
“We didn’t suspend Alex Jones or Infowars yesterday,” he tweeted Tuesday evening. “We know that’s hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn’t violated our rules. We’ll enforce if he does. And we’ll continue to promote a healthy conversational environment by ensuring tweets aren’t artificially amplified. Truth is we’ve been terrible at explaining our decisions in the past. We’re fixing that.”
Mr. Dorsey added that one standard should be adopted that applies to everyone who uses the platform. Otherwise, random bans only add “fuel to new conspiracy theories.”
“If we succumb and simply react to outside pressure, rather than straightforward principles we enforce (and evolve) impartially regardless of political viewpoints, we become a service that’s constructed by our personal views that can swing in any direction,” he continued. “That’s not us. Accounts like Jones’ can often sensationalize issues and spread unsubstantiated rumors, so it’s critical journalists document, validate, and refute such information directly so people can form their own opinions. This is what serves the public conversation best.”
SEE ALSO: Ben Shapiro: Mass banning of Alex Jones’ InfoWars shows ‘political Left’ at work
Mr. Dorsey’s sentiments echoed those of conservative author Ben Shapiro, who ripped social-media giants earlier in the week for “extraordinarily vague” and “deliberately unclear” policies.
“How exactly are we supposed to trust in free and open debate when those setting the limits are openly setting them up with embedded double-standards? The answer is, we don’t. Trust in social media is declining nearly as fast as trust in media overall,” the Daily Wire editor in chief warned Monday.
We didn’t suspend Alex Jones or Infowars yesterday. We know that’s hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn’t violated our rules. We’ll enforce if he does. And we’ll continue to promote a healthy conversational environment by ensuring tweets aren’t artificially amplified.
— jack (@jack) August 8, 2018
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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