House lawmakers faced off against several former Twitter executives during a contentious hearing Wednesday on allegations that the social media platform censored conservative views.
The Oversight and Accountability Committee called the hearing as a way to investigate the big tech company’s decision to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story, effectively swaying the presidential election toward one candidate.
The hearing allowed for an analysis of the company’s alleged role in the censorship of Covid-related information, the shadow-banning of conservative users and even the spread of information to Democrats that contributed to the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
Former Twitter executives — former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, former deputy general counsel James Baker, former head of trust and safety Yoel Roth, and former executive Anika Collier Navarroli — remained consistent throughout the hearing.
House Oversight and Government Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer kicked things off by confronting Roth with a past tweet in which he joked about rural Americans and called Trump administration officials “Nazis.”
Yes, that person in the pink hat is clearly a bigger threat to your brand of feminism than actual Nazis in the White House.
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) January 22, 2017
RELATED: Hunter Biden Scandal Over Twitter Exec Refers To Trump Supporters As Nazis, Attacks Central America
Contents
Confrontation over ‘Trump supporters are Nazi’ tweets
Kamer (R-KY) confronted Roth at the White House over a tweet calling Trump supporters ‘Nazis’.
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“Twitter executives were hostile to conservatives and biased toward anyone who opposed their views. For example, Mr. Roth, did you write this tweet?” he asked.
Roth replied, “I regret the language I used in some of my earlier tweets, but, yes, I posted it.”
You regret it because it came back to bite you in the ass, Mr. Roth. And even with that regret, it’s revealing of your mindset when you actively censored the American people.
“Mr. Roth, do you think all conservatives are Nazis?” asked the newcomer.
“Of course not, sir,” Roth replied.
Top Oversight Republican James Comer panicked former Twitter head of trust and safety Yoel Roth when he pulled out giant posters with Roth’s tweets calling Trump and his supporters “real Nazis.”
Just look at this. pic.twitter.com/go8xjrlmnQ
— Benny Johnson (@BennyJohnson) February 8, 2023
Sparks fly during hearings on Twitter censorship.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) of Colorado demanded answers about whether her account had been shadow-banned by Twitter, a practice confirmed with the release of Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’ and a practice used almost exclusively on conservative accounts. .
Both Roth and Gadde denied shadow-banning the Congresswoman, as she instead insisted that Twitter staff informed her that she had been shadow-banned for a tweet for 90 days.
“Who do you think you are?” He is wounded
Reputation. @LaurenBoebert Mopping the floor with Yoel Roth: “You silenced me from communicating with the American people for a joke. Who do you think you are?” pic.twitter.com/46UmTRV7RC
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) February 8, 2023
RELATED: Elon Musk: Twitter Files Prove Censorship Was ‘Enforced Against Right But Not Left’
Former Twitter execs hammered for censorship scandal
There were a few other highlights from the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearings on Twitter’s censorship practices.
Gadde claimed that “in hindsight,” Twitter should not have censored the Hunter Biden laptop story in the first place but that the agency simply did not know that doing so would be an attack on free speech.
He is lying. He knew exactly what they were doing in real time. https://t.co/KQHOi08WLO
— Pradeep J Shankar (@neobhatara) February 8, 2023
Representative Nancy Mays (R-SC) challenged Gadde to reveal the medical expertise in his background that would allow Twitter to suppress pandemic-related information on the platform.
Information from original medical doctor
Twitter exec explains medical training that qualified him to censor Harvard + Stanford MDs who questioned official COVID narrative. pic.twitter.com/AiBoJx4JBM
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (@RobertF.KennedyJr.) February 8, 2023
Just an absolutely brutal takedown by Mace.
Mays praised Elon Musk for releasing his ‘Twitter files’ which allowed the world to see what was going on behind the company’s closed doors.
“Thank God for Elon Musk … for allowing us and the world to see that Twitter was essentially a subsidiary of the FBI, censoring real medical voices with real skill that put real Americans’ lives in danger because they didn’t have that information. .”
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) asked Twitter officials how they took marching orders from the FBI, DOJ and the Biden campaign.
“Over my right shoulder, we have an email. It’s Saturday, October 24th, 5:39 p.m., with a Twitter email chain mentioning five different tweets. Below the line it says, ‘More to review from the Biden team.’ Did anyone have any comments on how much interaction the Biden team had on Twitter with the tweets they wanted Twitter to review?”
Byron Donalds is a menace.
Fact checks former Twitter executives in real time. pic.twitter.com/PcAcDSNkQh
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePress) February 8, 2023
Representative Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) slammed former Twitter executives for banning her account for sharing Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data on Covid-19 vaccine deaths.
.@RepMTG To Yoel Roth: “You permanently banned my Twitter account but you allowed child porn all over Twitter.” pic.twitter.com/kshgUbXD8x
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 8, 2023
None of these revelations matter unless House Republicans actually take some action to hold former officials, including Twitter, accountable for engaging in third-world-level censorship of the American people.
“You did it because you were afraid of Joe Biden not winning the 2020 election, that’s what it turned out to be,” Comer alleged. “I can assure you that this committee will be successful in holding Biden accountable.”
That remains to be seen.
Former President Donald Trump celebrated the hearing in a post on his Truth social media platform.
“To all the great Republican patriots on the House Oversight Committee … congratulations. What an important and incredible job you are doing,” he wrote.
“The sleazebags who rigged and stole the 2020 presidential election are being ripped off.”
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