Technology
White House Invites Americans To Share Stories Of Being Banned On Social Media With Trump
Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)
The White House is inviting Americans to share their experiences having their social media accounts banned or suspended for “unclear” reasons through an online tool that launched Wednesday.
“Social media platforms should advance freedom of speech. Yet too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned, or fraudulently reported for unclear ‘violations’ of user policies,” the webpage reads. “No matter your views, if you suspect political bias caused such an action to be taken against you, share your story with President [Donald] Trump.”
The online tool lets individuals check boxes indicating they had trouble on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or “other.”
“We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation,” Twitter told The Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “We are constantly working to improve our systems and will continue to be transparent in our efforts.”
The Trump Administration is fighting for free speech online.
No matter your views, if you suspect political bias has caused you to be censored or silenced online, we want to hear about it! https://t.co/9lc0cqUhuf pic.twitter.com/J8ICbx42dz
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 15, 2019
The White House’s focus on social media censorship comes after several high-profile figures claimed to be the victims of censorship due to their conservative views. A Twitter account that Trump frequently retweets was restored Friday after a two-day suspension for allegedly violating the company’s rules of conduct.
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz alleged that he was discriminated against on Twitter and brought the word “shadow ban” into the cable news lexicon.
“I am certain there were only four members of Congress who had their voices suppressed on Twitter — Matt Gaetz, [GOP Reps.] Jim Jordan [of Ohio], Mark Meadows [of North Carolina] and Devin Nunes [of California],” Gaetz said on Fox News in July. “That would be one hell of a coincidence.”
Facebook, which owns Instagram, and Google, which owns YouTube, did not immediately response to TheDCNF’s requests for comment.
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