IAP Founder Mike Davis Statement On His Fourth Twitter Suspension
August 17, 2021
| WASHINGTON — While Twitter allows the Taliban spokesperson to run free on its platform, for the fourth time, the website suspended Mike Davis, founder and president of the Internet Accountability Project, for a movie reference at the expense of CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Brian Stelter. |
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| “This is now a pattern. Twitter has once again wrongly suspended me, four times and counting, this time for again comparing CNN’s Brian Stelter to the famous character ‘The Gimp’ from Pulp Fiction. I did this after Stelter repeatedly went on-air and defended CNN’s indefensible decision to not fire primetime anchor Chris Cuomo after he used his perch and power to attempt to discredit numerous women who accused Governor Andrew Cuomo, his predator-brother, of serial workplace sexual abuse. I made it quite clear in my thread that this was a reference to Quentin Tarantino’s character, and it clearly wasn’t any reference to disability status. In my fourth suspension, Twitter determined that I cannot have access to my account until I delete my tweet. Twitter admitted the last three times it made a ‘mistake’ after lawmakers and activists shamed the Big Tech monopolist into backing down. This time, I simply followed the normal Twitter appeals process. It is unclear how my tweet violates Twitter’s policy against ‘hatred’ against any protected class, especially given that a quick Twitter search of ‘gimp’ pulls up numerous active tweets. Nonetheless, Twitter has decided I cannot have access to my account until I delete the tweet in question. “Twitter allows anti-gay slurs to go viral on its platform and welcomes terrorist organizations like the Taliban and Hamas and even the genocidal communist Chinese regime, but if a leading American critic of Big Tech and Big Media criticizes two CNN anchors by referencing a movie character, that’s a line too far. Twitter’s arbitrary and nonsensical rule enforcement seems to always favor liberals, terrorists and dictators and target conservatives for censorship. Their antitrust amnesty must end, and their Section 230 immunity must be repealed. “The question that needs answered: Does Big Media, including CNN’s Brian Stelter, have special access to Big Tech platforms, like Twitter, to censor their critics? |
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| “In my previous three suspensions, Twitter came back saying they were in error and simply a mistake. I am clearly being targeted by the platform because I don’t think like the rest of Silicon Valley and regularly criticize Twitter. The censors continue to do their best to muzzle me while I point out their hypocrisies and call out fake journalists like Chris Cuomo and Brian Stelter. “The use of the word gimp appears to be in question here, and it is far from a banned word on Twitter, where it is used hundreds of times per day as an offensive slur as a quick search would show, and not a movie reference, yet I’m the one targeted. This is now my fourth unwarranted suspension from the platform, and at this rate, it probably will not be my last. Be that as it may, I will not change what I talk about on the platform. I will continue to call out fake journalists and Big Tech, no matter what is thrown at me. Since Twitter lets the Taliban and Chinese state-run media tweet away while silencing Americans for exercising their free speech rights, it’s past time to break up this monopoly and allow for unfettered open dialogue across the internet.” |
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| This is the fourth suspension of IAP Founder Mike Davis. Davis’ previous suspension was for an innocuous five-day-old tweet in which he called out President Biden’s lawless border policies. Before that, Davis was suspended for once again referencing “The Gimp” of Pulp Fiction lore. Finally, Davis’ first suspension never had a given reason, but the target has been squarely on Davis’ back since that time. |
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IAP is a nonprofit conservative advocacy group that holds Big Tech accountable for engaging in egregious business practices like snooping, spying, political bias against conservatives, employee abuses and anticompetitive conduct. Davis previously served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and led the Senate confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a record number of circuit court judges. More information on Davis and IAP can be found here.
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