Former President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter a day after former First Lady Michelle Obama and others demanded the company remove him “forever,” according to the latest “Twitter Files” article.
On Saturday, CEO Elon Musk and journalist Michael Schellenberger held a fourth round of internal communications by company executives from Jan. 6 to 8, 2021, including and shortly after the Capitol riots. Released Twitter documentation.
In the file, Shellenberger reported that “internal and external pressure”, including the former first lady, had fallen on the company and asked Trump to ban him from using Twitter.
Former President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, November 15, 2022 and Michelle Obama in Los Angeles, June 13, 2022.
“Now is the time to stop Silicon Valley corporations from enabling this colossal act, permanently ban this person from their platforms, and prevent their technology from being used as fuel by the nation’s leaders. It’s time to go further than ever before by introducing policies for riots,” Obama wrote in a lengthy statement posted to Twitter on Jan. 7.
Part 4 Drop of Twitter Files Shows Executives’ Approach to ‘Trump Solo Policy Change’
“And if there is any hope of improving this country, now is the time to have swift and serious consequences for the leadership failures that led to yesterday’s embarrassment.”
In addition to the former First Lady, celebrities and organizations including the Anti-Defamation League have called for Trump’s ban.
On the morning of January 7, then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sent an email to employees stating, as Schellenberger wrote, “We will be consistent with our policies, including the right of users to return to Twitter after being suspended. Please keep your sexuality,” he said.
Trump was suspended from the podium at the time.
Twitter file reveals ‘junior employees’ opposed Trump’s ban, warned of ‘slippery slopes’
The files also showed that Twitter maintains a policy called “Public Interest Exception.” The policy did not ban elected officials because their comments had great public interest, even though they appeared to violate other policies.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington DC on Sept. 7, 2022.
(Aldrago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
While Trump’s temporary suspension has been lifted, this second policy was specifically and deliberately ignored in Trump’s case, Shellenberger reported. Dorsey was also on vacation at the time of Trump’s ban.
“Dorsey was on vacation in French Polynesia the week of January 4-8, 2021,” Shellenberger reported. The CEO has delegated many of the responsibilities to senior management. Among them are Yoel Roth, former Head of Trust and Safety at Twitter, and Vijaya Gadde, former Head of Legal, Policy and Trust at Twitter.
“In 2018, 2020 and 2022, 96%, 98% and 99% of Twitter staff political contributions went to Democrats,” Shellenberger reported.
Elon Musk says ‘election interference’ by social media companies is ‘wrong’ and undermines democracy
Shellenberger also reported, “In 2017, Ross tweeted ‘There are actual Nazis in the White House.'”
“Twitter employees are aware of the differences between their politics and the Twitter Terms of Service (TOS), but they also engage in complex interpretations of content to root out banned tweets.” pointed out Shellenberger.
A day after Dorsey’s email, Trump was permanently suspended because his post was “received and interpreted.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
After Musk bought Twitter and became CEO, Trump regained access to the platform. However, Trump has not yet resumed control of the account and plans to continue using his social media platform, Truth Social, he previously told Fox News Digital.
