Matthew Dunn
News.com.au
Opinion
THIS week Twitter banned an outspoken conservative and Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos for calling actress Leslie Jones a “black dude”.
While the 32-year-old has developed a reputation for testing the boundaries as the voice of a growing anti-feminist, “alt-right” movement, Twitter’s permanent suspension of Yiannopoulos is a ridiculous and unjustified decision, which will initiate a major war over free speech.
So what did the openly gay, Trump-loving conservative do to become the world’s most hated man on Twitter?
That is a long and complicated answer for a person well-known for acting as a free speech provocateur, exploiting the nexus of politics, technology and social justice issues.
He is no stranger to testing the boundaries of Twitter’s code of conduct, with the social media platform removing his verification status after a string of inflammatory behaviours.
The latest came during a week where Leslie Jones’ Twitter account was hit with racist comments and hateful memes related to her role in the new all-femaleGhostbusters film.
The barrage of abuse led to the actor closing her account.
“I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart,” she wrote.
“All this cause I did a movie. You can hate the movie but the s*** I got today … wrong.”
For his part, Milo wrote a seething review for the new movie, which was accompanied with a tweet suggesting she wasn’t able to cop criticism.
“If at first you don’t succeed (because you’re work is terrible), play the victim. Everyone gets hate mail FFS,” the tweet read.
Ms Jones blocked Milo on Twitter, which led him posting a tweet to his 338,000 followers saying he has been “rejected by yet another black dude”.
The tweet that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.Source:Supplied
Following his public dispute with Ms Jones, legions of Milo’s followers direct abusive tweets at the actor — although he emphatically denies telling his fans to attack her.
Regardless, the string of hate captured the attention of Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey.
He reached out Ms Jones and asked her to follow him so they could communicate privately, which resulted in Milo being banned soon after.
In addition to a public statement, Twitter contacted Milo by email to inform him of the ban.
“Your account has been permanently suspended for repeated violation of the Twitter rules, specifically our rules participating in or inciting targeted abuse of individuals,” the email read, reportsBreitbart.
“Given that you have previously received repeated warnings for similar violations, your account will not be restored.”
While the abuse directed at Ms Jones is out of bounds and Milo’s own contributions questionable, banning him from Twitter is ludicrous and pointless given the sheer amount of trolls left to operate on the service.
Leslie Jones has been responsible for her own racist tweets.Source:AP
In a statement, Milo said Twitter had confirmed itself as a safe space for Muslim terrorists and Black Lives Matter extremists, but believed it didn’t welcome conservatives.
“Twitter has suspended me without evidence of wrongdoing and without explanation while allowing the most appalling abuses to continue on its platform,” he toldBreitbart.
“I don’t need to break the terms of service to point out the mendacious hypocrisy of the left on social media.
“Twitter is intent on protecting free speech, as long as you are a Hollywood actor who bravely tweets about white people, or a New York globalist advocating for violence against Donald Trump.
“My suspension has made one thing clear — Twitter doesn’t stand for free speech. What they do stand for is a carefully crafted facade of leftist approved ideas, and conservatives that don’t stray too far from safe (globalist) ideas.”
Whether you agree with his political view or not, the fact of the matter is Milo does have a point.
A quick perusal of Twitter will show an endless array of trolls violating the terms and conditions of the service, yet seemingly given a free pass.
I can confirm first hand there are far worse people than Milo allowed to continually use the social media platform.
Almost every time I do a pro-cycling story, I am met with a flurry of abuse from people explicitly stating their wishes for my death as the result of being collected by car.
Yet, because I am not a famous celebrity in the limelight, Jack Dorsey doesn’t mind and these people are allowed to operate.
There is an argument that Milo is different from these keyboard warriors as he has a large following and is influential to his fan base.
But, why is someone’s ability to resonate with social media a justification for punishment?
Donald Trump has a large following and is responsible for some of the most horrible tweets, yet Mr Dorsey has no issue letting the presidential candidate stay on the platform.
I get there is no excuse for Milo’s tweets, but Twitter has to stop picking and choosing the battles it wants to fight.
If the social media platform is going to take the drastic action of banning Milo, it needs to strictly police the platform to ensure it is a safe and happy environment for every user — not just those with clout.
Rules are fine, but they have to come with consistency or they are nothing more than a joke.
Pick up your act, Twitter.