'Twitter Files': 5 findings on Trump ban, Michelle Obama and gov't influence
2. CEO Jack Dorsey was initially hesitant to ban Trump but ultimately agreed to institute a 'strikes' policy.
Part 4 of "The Twitter Files," published by Shellenberger on Twitter Saturday, consists of deliberations between members of Twitter leadership in the hours following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot where Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to protest the counting of electoral votes and the certification President Joe Biden's election victory.
In the third batch of the "Twitter Files," Taibbi released a screenshot of a message where Twitter officials characterized Trump's language surrounding the 2020 election as "coded incitement to violence." Discussion about whether to permanently ban the then-president from Twitter loomed large at the company in the hours following the Capitol riot as CEO Jack Dorsey vacationed in French Polynesia.
Dorsey took a break from his vacation to share his belief via email that, according to Taibbi, "Twitter needs to remain consistent in its policies, including the right of users to return to Twitter after a temporary suspension."
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Roth, to who Dorsey delegated much authority in his absence, described Dorsey's email as "fine" while maintaining that many within the company wanted leadership to "reassure them that people who care about this are thinking deeply about these problems and aren't happy with where we are."
"A few engineers have reached out to me directly about it, and I'm chatting with them … but it's so clear that they just want to know that _ someone _ is doing something about this, and it's not that we're ignoring the issues here," he added.
Roth later informed his colleagues that Dorsey had approved a "repeat offender for civic integrity" policy that would result in users facing "permanent suspension" after five violations, or "strikes."
Roth indicated that "Trump continues to just have his one strike." On Jan. 8, the day after Twitter employees engaged in an intense debate about what to do with his account following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Twitter announced the permanent suspension of then-President Trump.
"After close review of recent tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
