Twitter is a weird place.
You probably already knew that, but it’s just such an odd company that applies its rules and punishments for users so unevenly that if it were a battlefield, the best mine-sweeper would have trouble finding the “mines” that could land you in “Twitter jail.”
On Monday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), tweeting from her Congressional account because her personal account has been permanently suspended, decided to take aim at U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine — a transgender woman.
“We must do everything we can to prevent Dr. Dick Levine’s pre-teen [WeenieChop],” Greene wrote.
Now that I think about it.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) July 18, 2022
As Dr. Dick Levine advocates for “gender affirming care” for minors, has he undergone the #WeenieChop himself?
Or is he just pushing this on children?
She asked, “Now that I think about it. As Dr. Dick Levine advocates for ‘gender affirming care’ for minors, has he undergone the [WeenieChop himself]? Or is he just pushing this on children?”
So how did Twitter respond to this?
It added a label that read, “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
This isn’t really the kind of language or behavior that a decent amount of Americans would like to see from their elected officials. And to many, especially those who are on Twitter, it is probably seen as offensive. Others, on the other hand, are probably laughing their behinds off.
But from a purely free speech angle, there’s nothing wrong with Twitter’s response to the tweet. In fact, it is an OK response.
It didn’t take the tweet down. It didn’t, as of Tuesday morning, suspend Greene’s account. It left the tweet up — presumably — so people could see Greene’s behavior.
However, it did not sit well with the Congresswoman who tweeted, “Twitter says this tweet violated rules about hateful conduct. I can’t imagine anything more hateful than promoting ‘gender reassignment’ surgeries for children.”
Twitter says this tweet violated rules about hateful conduct.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) July 18, 2022
I can’t imagine anything more hateful than promoting “gender reassignment” surgeries for children. https://t.co/65LHtYXbGw
The treatment she received is vastly different than what happened to the Christian satirical site The Babylon Bee in March after it sent a tweet mocking USA Today’s decision to name Levine the “Woman of the Year.”
The Bee’s tweet labeled Levine the “Man Of The Year.” Twitter reportedly gave the account, which has 1.5 million followers but has not tweeted since March, the opportunity to tweet again if it deleted the offending comment. However, Seth Dillion, the CEO of the Bee, said he would not take it down.
So repeat Twitter-offender and quasi-perma-banned Marjorie Taylor Greene is allowed to tweet from an alternative account, but the Bee, which is a satirical site that’s supposed to be slightly transgressive, is still locked out.
That’s not to say Twitter should go and suspend Greene’s other account. It can if it wants, but she should be allowed to act as she does so people can determine if that’s who they want representing them.
However, surely most average Twitter users would prefer it if there was some kind of obvious standard that they know is a line they cannot cross without being suspended or banned. And it would help if the rules were evenly applied to users too.
