National ENQ Investigation: Should Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn Decide in Business, Politics, and If Donald Trump Wins the 2020 Elections?
Recently, Twitter considered that a statement which President Donald J. Trump released on Twitter was false. Is it fair for the social media businesses to take sides in business and politics? Strong reactions came from many people related to this and see below some, even the ones from the President Donald J. Trump:
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump):
“Big Tech is doing everything in their very considerable power to CENSOR in advance of the 2020 Election. If that happens, we no longer have our freedom. I will never let it happen! They tried hard in 2016, and lost. Now they are going absolutely CRAZY. Stay Tuned!!!”
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump):
“Twitter has now shown that everything we have been saying about them (and their other compatriots) is correct. Big action to follow!”
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump):
“The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19. Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!”
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump):
“Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that….”
National ENQ has gathered responses from people who were both for and against the actions taken by Twitter:
“If Donald Trump doesn’t want Twitter to fact check his tweets, he shouldn’t keep using his platform to lie and spread conspiracy theories”
“The silencing of conservatives on social media needs to stop. This is unacceptable.”
“It’s time for big tech to stop censoring Conservatives!”
About time @Twitter Fact checked the lies spew by @realDonaldTrump, if they have done that early we could have avoided listening to @POTUS lying about the #coronavirus and saved over 100,000 American lives
“Trump’s abuses the terms of service of Twitter daily. How does he get away with it? And then threatens to stifle social media in general. It’s an abuse of his power.”
“Do you think Twitter should BAN Donald Trump?”
Tucker Carlson On Big Tech Censorship:
“The right to have your own opinions, to think for yourself, to disagree with your elected leaders was the most basic right that every American enjoyed for 240 years…and then came Coronavirus & Big Tech and it was all swept away.”
“The social media giants are ruining the very essence of what the platforms were designed for and that is freedom of speech with different political views and voices.”
“Platforms don’t ruin freedom of speech, people do.
If these platforms did not put fact checkers on information that is so obviously needing it, they would not be doing their duty of care to their community. A community who opted into their platform under their rules.”
Lauren Boebert for Congress (R-CO3) (@laurenboebert):
“Social media needs to get their act together before they get labeled as publishers and become legally liable for the content published on their platforms. Once that happens, it is over for them.
I’ll hold social media to account and support the 1A!”
Errol Webber For Congress (CA-37):
We are done dealing with the obscene censorship from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the likes. @KathyGriffin issues death threats to POTUS and nothing happens while conservatives are shut down for following people back!
“Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all “fact check,” they are all Publishers now.”
“I hope President @realDonaldTrump seriously considers leaving biased Twitter for another platform. Most of his 80 million followers will make the transition with him”
Liz Slezak (@lizslezak):
“The issue with Big Tech is that they have a unique immunity to liability (Sec. 230). The issue is not really about free speech or regulation, since the First Amendment applies to the federal gvmt (& as incorporated by the states) not private companies.”
“Rather, what is concerning is the protections which immunize tech companies although they moderate content without realizing publisher treatment.”
John B Wells 11:11 (@JohnBWellsCTM):
“Social media companies might be private, but they don’t own the internet. Radio stations are also privately owned but they cannot broadcast what they want on the public airwaves. Also they were all created with taxpayer grants… So how private are they if we paid for it?”
Lauren Boebert for Congress (R-CO3) (@laurenboebert):
“If Twitter was really interested in “the truth”, why didn’t they do some fact checking on Adam Schiff and his Russian Conspiracy tweets?”
Daily Mail:
“The head of Twitter’s fact-checking team has previously tweeted that the Trump administration are Nazis, compared adviser Kellyanne Conway to Joseph Goebbels and said fly over states are racist.The head of Twitter’s fact-checking team, Yoel Roth, has a history of anti-Trump tweets
Roth’s prior tweets, which were mostly posted around 2017, emerged after Twitter put a fact-checking warning on Trump’s posts on Tuesday
Trump on Wednesday threatened to close down social media platforms after Twitter labelled two of his tweets ‘unsubstantiated’
His tweets that were labeled unsubstantiated related to claims about mail-in ballots being ‘substantially fraudulent’
Yoel Roth, whose official title at Twitter is head of Site Integrity, faced backlash on Wednesday after his history of anti-Trump tweets emerged less than 24 hours after the social media giant put a fact-checking warning on two of the president’s tweets.
Twitter prompted readers to check the facts in Trump’s tweets after the president on Tuesday suggested that California’s mail-in balloting initiative would lead to substantial voter fraud in the November general election.
The social media giant said Trump’s claims about mail-in ballots being ‘substantially fraudulent’ were found to unsubstantiated by fact-checkers at CNN, the Washington Post and other media outlets.”
ZE (@Zacharyeldog245):
“Mr. President, please do something about Twitter, Facebook, and Google. The way they are trying to mess with the November Election, something needs to be done about it. Thank you”
Business Insider (@businessinsider):
“Trump is unleashing an executive order against social media companies, and it could trigger a legal fight they desperately want to avoid”
James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII):
“President @realDonaldTrump is right to slam Twitter’s “fact checks” on his tweets.
But that’s just the tip of the 2020 iceberg…
“We’re trying to get the shitty people to not show up, it’s a product thing we’re working on” – Olinda Hassan, Twitter”
James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII):
“The jig is up.
Silicon Valley is being exposed.
Next month we start releasing new tapes.
#ExposeBigTech”
James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII):
“But how exactly does @Twitter know who to shadowban?
Parsing data and writing algorithms according to engineers.
We found out they flag @realDonaldTrump supporters with profiles even mentioning “God,” “guns,” or showing the “American flag” as bots.”
James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII):
“Twitter is not only trying to make the “shi*ty people” disappear.
They are outright SHADOWBANNING users along partisan lines.
Don’t believe me? Hear it for yourself.”
Sherry Coker Petri (@SherryPetri):
“Um…”strongly regulate” sounds bad..”shut them down” sounds worse. What they are doing is wrong, but we can’t allow the cure to be worse than the disease.”
Hattie (@azcobra2000):
“We LOVE you and pray for you at least daily. This Social Media silencing of conservatives and Praying Medic is an abomination and must be put to rest!!!!!!! Hattie Franks, Arizona”
Donald J. Trump Retweeted:
John Solomon (@jsolomonReports):
“In apparent ‘error,’ YouTube has been censoring comments critical of Chinese Communist Party | Just The News”
Donald J. Trump Retweeted:
John Solomon (@jsolomonReports):
“President Trump blasts Twitter after the platform disputed the accuracy of two of his tweets | Just The News”
John Solomon (@jsolomonReports):
“Breaking: Trump preparing executive order to take effect Thursday to address perceived bias at social media giants | Just The News”
The Hill:
“Trump, who has increasingly leveled unsubstantiated claims about widespread fraud in mail-in voting, zeroed in on California in a string of tweets Tuesday morning, two days after the Republican National Committee (RNC) sued [Governor Gavin] Newsom over his effort to expand mail-in voting in California during the coronavirus pandemic.”
Uncaduv (@Uncaduv):
“Google literally bought up the Stasi HQ, and Facebook has literally hired ex-Stasi to enforce censorship. Big tech are the new Nazis.
Top it off Bill Gates is a eugenicist.”
Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo):
“The U.S. stands against, and will not tolerate, government-imposed Internet shutdowns and other forms of censorship during or after this pandemic. We join @FO_Coalition’s call to promote and protect #InternetFreedom at all times.”
Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers):
- Mail voting fraud is extremely rare, and some experts consider it to be safer than in-person voting because paper ballots can’t be hacked.
- Most studies find that voting by mail doesn’t help one party over another.
- President Trump voted by mail in the Florida primary.
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump):
“There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone…..”
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump):
“….living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way!”
RD (@real_defender):
“The democrats know they can only win in November by cheating. We must not allow this to happen.”
Dawn Michael, PhD:
“This is utterly astounding that he is sending out ballots, and taking away the option to vote at a booth, it is obvious that this is the only way that the Democrats think that they can win an election, by cheating!”
Deborah Austin (@DebsSweet):
“That’s all they know! Remember Hillary getting the questions ahead of the Trump debate with her? My head exploded over that but nothing much was said about this. Cheating! Always cheating!”
GrrrGraphics Cartoons (@GrrrGraphics):
“It’s Time Mr. President”
“President Donald Trump made a promise on Saturday to address the censorship of conservatives on social media platforms.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“Absentee voting has the word absent in it for a reason.
It means you’re absent from the jurisdiction or unable to vote in person.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“President @realDonaldTrump is against the Democrat plan to politicize the coronavirus and expand mass mail-in voting without a reason, which has a high propensity for voter fraud.
This is a simple distinction that the media fails to grasp.”
Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety):
“We added a label to two @realDonaldTrump Tweets about California’s vote-by-mail plans as part of our efforts to enforce our civic integrity policy. We believe those Tweets could confuse voters about what they need to do to receive a ballot and participate in the election process.”
“What you need to know
– Trump claimed that mail-in ballots would lead to “a Rigged Election.” However, fact-checkers say there is no evidence that mail-in ballots are linked to voter fraud.
– Trump falsely claimed that California will send mail-in ballots to “anyone living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there.” In fact, only registered voters will receive ballots.
– Five states already vote entirely by mail and all states offer some form of mail-in absentee voting, according to NBC News.”
“On Tuesday, President Trump made a series of claims about potential voter fraud after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an effort to expand mail-in voting in California during the COVID-19 pandemic. These claims are unsubstantiated, according to CNN, Washington Post and others. Experts say mail-in ballots are very rarely linked to voter fraud.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“In 27 states, a voter can designate someone else to turn in their ballot.
This practice leads to BALLOT HARVESTING.
For example, the registrar in Orange County, CA “reported in 2018 that his office had ‘people dropping off maybe 100 or 200 ballots.’”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) – A bipartisan commission led in-part by former President Jimmy Carter (a Democrat) concluded that mail-in ballots “remain the LARGEST SOURCE of potential voter FRAUD.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“In Los Angeles, 100,000 inaccurate voter-registration records were generated after a technical glitch.
The system inaccurately enrolled some voters for vote-by-mail, and 1,500 non-citizens were allowed to register to vote.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“Just LAST WEEK, @TheJusticeDept announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office & FBI in Philadelphia secured a guilty plea of an elections judge, who admitted to accepting
BRIBES
FOR
BALLOTS.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“The @postandcourier reported that mail-in ballots from South Carolina turned up in Maryland.
Even more, voters in Greenville County received wrong absentee ballots in the mail earlier this year.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“According to the @reviewjournal, there has been an influx of absentee ballots that were “NO GOOD”.
A 36 year-veteran carrier with USPS said recipients “all moved or died”.
She kept 65 ballots from just her first delivery day!!”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) – In NV, excess ballots sent to inactive voters piled up in Las Vegas trash cans.
“What’s going to happen w/ these things, they’re NOT SECURED at all & there are THOUSANDS of them just sitting here. This just seems fraudulent to me, something stinks here.”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“Get the facts about mail-in ballots!
Will the media, and @Twitter, acknowledge these real concerns with mass mail-in voting?”
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec):
“@TexasTribune reported Dallas officials “sequestered” 700 “suspicious ballots” after “off the charts” complaints.
Voters received UNSOLICITED mail-in ballots.
A grand jury INDICTED a man for using someone else’s mail-in ballot to vote.”
National ENQ White House Sources Confirm that President Trump Is Preparing an Executive Order, Aimed for Release Thursday, to Address Perceived Anti-Conservative Bias at Social Media Giants
White House spokeswomen Kayleigh McEnany and Alyssa Farah told reporters aboard Air Force One that the President will be signing an executive order “pertaining to social media” but gave no additional details.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Donald J. Trump said that he will “strongly regulate” or even “close down” social media platforms, one day after Twitter flagged two of his posts.
You can see the exact words, “Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives’ voices,” Trump mentioned Wednesday morning in the above tweets.
“We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that happen again.”
We can all see that Trump accused Twitter of interfering in the 2020 presidential election and stifling free speech – Since it holds the messages of the President and candidate Donald J. Trump, Twitter is rapidly becoming a publisher, and less a neutral social platform.
Obviously, we cannot accept that the truth can come only from CNN and The Washington Post – should we? Should we only choose to vote for what CNN and the Washington Post decide is good for us? Certainly not.
As many have said, freedom of speech, the freedom of everyone’s opinion comes first.
The Main Question Is: Should We Allow Twitter, as well as Other Social Media Platforms Like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn Decide in Business, Politics, and If Donald Trump Wins the 2020 Elections?
All of the platforms mentioned above are businesses. It should be very clear clear that Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn are business, and they shouldn’t pick sides and get to decide when freedom of speech is on the line.
They also shouldn’t establish who has the right opinions and attitudes or who has the wrong ones, regardless of the subject or area, be it in business, politics. It should be clear by now that Twitter must not have a decision when it comes to the elections or candidates, like they’re trying to decide if Donald Trump should or shouldn’t win the 2020 presidential elections.
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