Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was called to testify in front of the Senate about his company’s bias against conservative posts but revealed that despite the welcome announcement two weeks ago that tweets denying the Holocaust would be banned, Holocaust denial was still alive and well on Twitter.
On Wednesday, Dorsey, along with several other internet company CEOs, testified virtually in front of the Senate. Dorsey stated that his company censors tweets they deem to be sources of misinformation. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Co) asked if this included Holocaust denial. It should be noted that two weeks ago, Twitter announced they would ban posts that “deny or diminish” violent events, including the Holocaust.
Holocaust: “Misleading” But Not Misinformation
“We have a policy against misinformation in three categories, which are manipulated media, public health, specifically COVID, and civic integrity, election interference and voter suppression,” Dorsey said in a video shared by Yahoo News reporter Alexander Nazaryan. “We do not have a policy or enforcement for any other types of misleading information that you’re mentioning.”
Gardner specifically asked Dorsey: “If somebody denied the Holocaust happened, it’s not misinformation?”
“It’s misleading information,” Dorsey responded. “But we don’t have a policy against that type of misleading information.”
“We believe it’s important for everyone to hear from global leaders, and we have policies around world leaders,” he added. “We want to make sure we are respecting their right to speak and to publish what they need.”
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Gardner said at the hearing, “it’s strange to me that you’ve flagged the tweets from the President but haven’t hidden the Ayatollah’s tweets on Holocaust denial or calls to wipe Israel off the map.”
Later that day, Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a tweet asking, “why is it a crime to raise doubts about the Holocaust?” Khameini’s twitter post is still viewable on Twitter.
Twitter was called to task by the Senate after it blocked the account of the NY Post and the ability of any users from linking or sharing a NY Post story about evidence discovered on a laptop that belonged to Hunter Biden indicating that his father, former Vice President and current Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden, had accepted money from foreign sources in exchange for political favors.
