Twitter Suspends Account Exposing Liberal Hypocrisy: 'Utterly Ridiculous'
Platform met with widespread backlash after shutting down 'Defiant L's'
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Twitter has been met with widespread backlash after it suspended a hugely popular account dedicated to exposing liberal hypocrisy.
The account, “Defiant L’s,” posted side-by-side screenshots of tweets from prominent left-wing figures showing them taking two different sides of a single issue.
The account was suspended Tuesday for allegedly violating Twitter’s rules against “ban evasion.”
Twitter claims the anonymous creator opened a second account after being permanently suspended from Twitter.
At the time of the suspension, the account had more than 350,000 followers.
The account appeared to have been restored by Wednesday evening, however, and the controversy has apparently boosted the account's followers over half a million users as of Thursday.
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Twitter users were divided over which of the account’s recent tweets was the impetus for the suspension.
Several Twitter users pointed to one picture, showing a tweet from Hillary Clinton saying, “[c]omputer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump organization to a Russian-based bank.”
The screenshot was placed against a tweet from the New York Post about the bombshell report from special counsel John Durham, which alleged that the Clinton campaign paid a technology company to “infiltrate” servers in Trump Tower and the White House in order to establish a “narrative” linking former President Donald Trump to Russia.
The creator of the account reportedly sent a message to his social media followers explaining that Twitter had accused them of trying to evade a ban by using a second account, which is against Twitter's rules.
"So about an hour ago my account @DefiantLs was suspended," read the statement.
"The word currently is 'ban evasion' though I've never had an account suspended so I've never had to ban to evade.
"Regardless, I've appealed the suspension and will keep everyone updated.
"Thanks for all the support and kind words," they added.
"I hope to chat with you all again soon."
The move by Twitter was denounced by many on the social media platform, including Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
"Twitter suspending Defiant L’s is the most defiant L of all," he tweeted.
Twitter suspending Defiant L’s is the most defiant L of all.
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) February 16, 2022
"Absolutely ridiculous that twitter suspended @DefiantLs. Twitter has a right to make ridiculous moderation decisions but that doesn't mean they aren't ridiculous." replied attorney Casey Mattox.
"So Twitter suspended @DefiantLs for posting nothing but screenshots of public account’s actual tweets," responded Dana Loesch.
"So @DefiantLs made the crucial error of screenshotting tweets people on the Left didn't like -- and then got suspended for that. Sounds legit," tweeted Ben Shapiro.
"I am so mad right now. There is no way @DefiantLs broke any of Twitter's rules. How dare he expose Liberal hypocrisy!" read another tweet.
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Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz shared a screenshot of the suspended account, commenting that the move was "utterly ridiculous."
Utterly ridiculous. https://t.co/D9CqvSBS00
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2022
