Russian dissident Alexey Navalny condemned Twitter for banning President Donald Trump from its platform, saying the blatant, political censorship is eerily similar to that of the repressive Russian government.
“I think that the ban of Donald Trump on Twitter is an unacceptable act of censorship,” Navalny wrote.
1. I think that the ban of Donald Trump on Twitter is an unacceptable act of censorship (THREAD)
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 9, 2021
“If you replace ‘Trump’ with ‘Navalny’ in today’s discussion, you will get an 80% accurate Kremlin’s answer as to why my name can’t be mentioned on Russian TV and I shouldn’t be allowed to participate in any elections,” he continued.
9. If you replace "Trump" with "Navalny" in today's discussion, you will get an 80% accurate Kremlin's answer as to why my name can't be mentioned on Russian TV and I shouldn't be allowed to participate in any elections.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 9, 2021
In an extensive Twitter thread, Navalny explained how big tech’s recent speech ban campaign against Trump and some conservatives is a political move that other countries will abuse to justify silencing their objectors.
“In my opinion, the decision to ban Trump was based on emotions and personal political preferences,” Navalny wrote. “Don’t tell me he was banned for violating Twitter rules. I get death threats here every day for many years, and Twitter doesn’t ban anyone (not that I ask for it).”
“This precedent will be exploited by the enemies of freedom of speech around the world,” Navalny warned. “In Russia as well. Every time when they need to silence someone, they will say: ‘this is just common practice, even Trump got blocked on Twitter’.”
10. This precedent will be exploited by the enemies of freedom of speech around the world. In Russia as well. Every time when they need to silence someone, they will say: 'this is just common practice, even Trump got blocked on Twitter'.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 9, 2021
Navalny also expressed concern over Twitter’s inability to provide consistent scrutiny to other world leaders or people who have violated their policies.
“Among the people who have Twitter accounts are cold-blooded murderers (Putin or Maduro) and liars and thieves (Medvedev). For many years, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been used as a base for Putin’s “troll factory” and similar groups from other authoritarian countries,” Navalny wrote.
“Those who denied COVID-19 exist freely and communicate on Twitter. Their words have cost thousands of lives. And yet, it was Trump who got banned publicly and ostentatiously. Such selectivity indicates that this was an act of censorship,” he continued.
7. Those who denied COVID-19 exist freely and communicate on Twitter. Their words have cost thousands of lives. And yet, it was Trump who got banned publicly and ostentatiously. Such selectivity indicates that this was an act of censorship.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 9, 2021
While the Russian opposition leader noted that Twitter is a private company and is allowed to remove someone from its platform, he also pointed out that authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia have used private companies to “become the state’s best friends and the enablers when it comes to censorship.”
“If @twitter and @jack want to do things right, they need to create some sort of a committee that can make such decisions,” he concluded. “We need to know the names of the members of this committee, understand how it works, how its members vote and how we can appeal against their decisions.”
11. If @twitter and @jack want to do things right, they need to create some sort of a committee that can make such decisions. We need to know the names of the members of this committee, understand how it works, how its members vote and how we can appeal against their decisions.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 9, 2021
