Trump's border chief slams Twitter for locking his account after border wall tweet
The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection railed against Twitter on Thursday after he said the social media platform locked his account for violating its policies on hate speech when he tweeted about the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
At a news conference marking the 400th mile of completed wall, CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan argued that the tweet that prompted his account to be frozen was meant to praise the work of workers at his agency and the efficacy of the wall in general.
My tweet intended to educate the American people that borders matter, and the great things done by the men and women of CBP and DHS as a whole. My tweet was intended to emphasize that border security is national security,” he said.
Morgan contended that “the tweet was similar to hundreds and hundreds of tweets that I’ve sent over the past couple of years.”
“But none of you today got to see that tweet,” he added. “Americans across this great country didn’t get to see that tweet or the very critical information that was contained in that tweet because Twitter, they removed that tweet and they locked my account yesterday.”
Screenshots of the tweet provided to the conservative site The Federalist and confirmed to POLITICO show Morgan’s tweet hailed the efficacy of the border wall, saying that “every mile helps us stop gang members, murderers, sexual predators and drugs from entering our country.”
“It’s a fact, walls work,” the tweet read.
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that Morgan had been locked out of his account but said “the decision was reversed following an appeal by the account owner and further evaluation from our team.”
In Thursday’s news conference, Morgan listed off numerous other tweets he’d sent throughout October using similar language to highlight accused and convicted criminals the agency had apprehended, noting that none of them had ever triggered Twitter’s ban on hate speech.
He noted that the platform’s CEO was testifying on Capitol Hill on the very same day his account was frozen, facing a grilling from Republican senators about their longstanding allegations that social media giants are biased against and censor conservative speech.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/29/mark...eet-433617
The head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection railed against Twitter on Thursday after he said the social media platform locked his account for violating its policies on hate speech when he tweeted about the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
At a news conference marking the 400th mile of completed wall, CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan argued that the tweet that prompted his account to be frozen was meant to praise the work of workers at his agency and the efficacy of the wall in general.
My tweet intended to educate the American people that borders matter, and the great things done by the men and women of CBP and DHS as a whole. My tweet was intended to emphasize that border security is national security,” he said.
Morgan contended that “the tweet was similar to hundreds and hundreds of tweets that I’ve sent over the past couple of years.”
“But none of you today got to see that tweet,” he added. “Americans across this great country didn’t get to see that tweet or the very critical information that was contained in that tweet because Twitter, they removed that tweet and they locked my account yesterday.”
Screenshots of the tweet provided to the conservative site The Federalist and confirmed to POLITICO show Morgan’s tweet hailed the efficacy of the border wall, saying that “every mile helps us stop gang members, murderers, sexual predators and drugs from entering our country.”
“It’s a fact, walls work,” the tweet read.
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that Morgan had been locked out of his account but said “the decision was reversed following an appeal by the account owner and further evaluation from our team.”
In Thursday’s news conference, Morgan listed off numerous other tweets he’d sent throughout October using similar language to highlight accused and convicted criminals the agency had apprehended, noting that none of them had ever triggered Twitter’s ban on hate speech.
He noted that the platform’s CEO was testifying on Capitol Hill on the very same day his account was frozen, facing a grilling from Republican senators about their longstanding allegations that social media giants are biased against and censor conservative speech.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/29/mark...eet-433617
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