Twitter reinstates Christian Post after 9-month suspension
Twitter reinstated The Christian Post's account Saturday following a nine-month suspension in response to a March tweet that called a biologically male trans-identified Biden administration official a man.
“Our Twitter account has just been reinstated after a 9-month suspension because we correctly called Biden official Rachel Levine a man — and we refused to retract this truth,” CP editors announced in a series of tweets.
"As journalists, we understand our ethical obligation to provide accuracy over narrative and truth over opinion. Calling a man a man is a scientific truth, not opinion. Editorializing facts is called commentary, opinion, or, in some cases, dishonesty."
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Our Twitter account has just been reinstated after a 9-month suspension because we correctly called Biden official Rachel Levine a man — and we refused to retract this truth.
— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) December 31, 2022
Here’s why:
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On March 20, 2022, the social media giant notified the Christian news publication that the tweet violated its policy against what it deemed “hateful conduct” and had “temporarily limited some” features of the account, including the ability to post news articles.
Other limitations included being unable to like, follow or retweet posts. Twitter also told CP that the restrictions could be lifted 12 hours after deleting the tweet about Levine, the assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
CP posted the news article titled, “USA Today names Rachel Levine among its 'Women of the Year’” on its social media accounts. Levine was born male and went by his birth name of Richard before deciding to self-identify as a woman.
"USA Today names Rachel Levine, a man, among its 'Women of the Year,'" CP's March 16 tweet reads.
USA Today names Rachel Levine, a man, among its 'Women of the Year' https://t.co/tetu1uHJeopic.twitter.com/cAii1CkPit
— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) March 16, 2022
Twitter told CP that its account had been “flagged for possible violations of Twitter’s hateful conduct policy” and possibly violating France’s LCEN law on internet content as well as German law.
“Publishing content that is obviously unlawful under Article 6 of the LCEN law or that amounts to hate speech under the LCEN law can lead to civil and criminal penalties,” stated the emailed notification.
The editors clarified in Saturday's tweet thread that CP is a Christian media outlet with the "primary responsibility" to "God and advancing His truth."
"This is why we refused to capitulate on our biblical standards of truth by bowing down to the immoral demands of Twitter’s former leadership," the Twitter thread reads.
"In this case, obedience to God meant judgment by man. As living sacrifices to God, this was a small but necessary line for us to draw."
Crediting Twitter’s move to reinstate the CP’s account to the free speech doctrine held by the platform's new owner Elon Musk, the outlet declares that it "will continue speaking biblical truth, never in hate, always in love, and always to inform our readers to the best of our abilities.”
Former President Donald Trump is one of several high-profile accounts that Twitter has reinstated since Musk took over, along with The Babylon Bee, Jordan Peterson, Kathy Griffin and Project Veritas, among others.
Before being banned on Jan. 8, 2021, Trump had more than 88 million followers on Twitter.
Twitter took action against the Christian satirical site The Babylon Bee for posting a joke about honoring Levine as their “Man of the Year,” with the social media site locking them out of their account.
“They could, of course, delete the tweet themselves. But they won't,” tweeted Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon from his personal account. “It's not enough for them to just wipe it out. They want us to bend the knee and admit that we engaged in hateful conduct.”
Twitter also took action against several other accounts, including those belonging to a sitting congressman and a Christian magazine, for labeling Levine a man.
Last month, a video surfaced showing Levine publicly calling for social media and other tech platforms to crack down on “misinformation” about puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and irreversible sex-change surgeries.
Levine is seen in the May 27 video advocating for healthcare workers to pressure media companies to fight for the “health equity of sexual and gender minorities.”
In the virtual presentation at the Federation of State Medical Board’s 110th annual meeting in New Orleans, Levine warned of what he described as “substantial misinformation about gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse individuals.”
