The Saga Continues: Twitter Censors GOP Candidate Twice in One Week
Twitter said it mistakenly censored a tweet from House Republican candidate Rich McCormick on Tuesday, the day of the Georgia primary election, less than a week after the social media platform disabled another video of the military veteran.
A video McCormick tweeted Tuesday showing him on the campaign trail was flagged with a warning for “potentially sensitive content.”
It’s going to be a great day! Primary vote today in Georgia and Trump Rallies are coming back! I feel very blessed to be an American and have the right to vote! #Trump #MAGA2020 #KAG2020TRUMPVICTORY #GA07 #Gapol #TuesdayThoughts #KAG2020 #MAGA #Blessed pic.twitter.com/O0QISJR8WO
— Dr. Rich McCormick for Congress (@RichforGA) June 9, 2020
“It’s going to be a great day! Primary vote today in Georgia and Trump Rallies are coming back! I feel very blessed to be an American and have the right to vote!” McCormick told his Twitter followers on Tuesday morning.
The tweet included a series of pro-Trump hashtags.
McCormick, a physician and one of seven Republican candidates for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District, tweeted a photo of the censored video shortly thereafter along with a comment criticizing Twitter for “censoring my campaign.”
Hey @jack why are you censoring my campaign on Election Day? @realdonaldtrump is right we need to eliminate your Sec 230 immunity #Censorship #Trump #GA07 #Gapol pic.twitter.com/vzswzsEqEj
— Dr. Rich McCormick for Congress (@RichforGA) June 9, 2020
He frequently posts tweets praising President Donald Trump and other Republicans who are running for office across the country.
A Twitter spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation that McCormick’s Tuesday video was censored in error.
The spokesman offered an identical explanation on June 4 after the company disabled another video McCormick tweeted of himself doing pushups with his sons.
McCormick’s campaign offered a potential reason why Twitter flagged the video, which doesn’t appear to violate any of the company’s content policies. One of McCormick’s opponents is possibly “reporting the videos as sensitive and Twitter has no internal controls over that,” campaign spokesman John Simpson told the DCNF without providing evidence.
Simpson added: “Still doesn’t absolve Twitter. If they are that itchy with the censorship trigger finger it’s a real problem.”
Other conservatives have criticized Twitter’s moderators for targeting them for political reasons.
The social media giant immediately took action against Trump’s May 29 tweet that suggested the “THUGS” rioting in Minneapolis are “dishonoring the memory of George Floyd” and said that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after an officer knelt on his neck for roughly nine minutes.
….These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
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A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.
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