Twitter takes action against The Christian Post over tweet calling Rachel Levine a man
Twitter has taken action against The Christian Post’s account in response to a tweet that said Rachel Levine, a trans-identified Biden official, is a man.
In an alert emailed to CP on Sunday, the social media giant notified the Christian news publication that the tweet violated its policy against what it deems as “hateful conduct” by stating a biological fact and has “temporarily limited some” features of the account, including the ability to post new articles.
Other limitations include 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.
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CP posted the news article titled, “USA Today names Rachel Levine among its 'Women of the Year’” on its social media accounts last Tuesday. A trans-identified member of the Biden administration, Levine was born male and went by his birth name of Richard before deciding to self-identify as a woman.
On Friday, Twitter emailed CP a notification explaining that CP’s account had been “flagged for possible violations of Twitter’s hateful conduct policy” and possibly violating France’s LCEN law on internet content.
“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.
“If you believe the withheld content does not violate the French law, you may challenge the above decision by filing an appeal. You can also challenge this decision in a French court of justice.”
On the same day, Twitter emailed CP explaining that another complaint had been made claiming that the tweet violated German law. However, the social media site explained that its staff “investigated the reported content and have found that it is not subject to removal under the Twitter Rules … or German law.”
CP appealed the suspension and was informed by Twitter on Monday morning that the appeal is under review, but restrictions will continue to be imposed on the account.
“Please note that while we review your appeal, you won’t be able to access your Twitter account. We’ll take a look and will respond as soon as possible,” stated Twitter.
In addition to CP, Twitter also 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 on Monday. “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.”
Last October, Twitter temporarily blocked Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., from using his account after he posted a tweet calling Levine a man.
