Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed Twitter on Friday for flagging one of her tweets warning about the risks of ballot harvesting while leaving alone a tweet from Iran’s leader casting doubt on the Holocaust.
“Wow. When Iran’s Ayatollah says the Holocaust didn’t happen, Twitter doesn’t say ‘this claim is disputed.’ When I say ballot harvesting makes election fraud easier Twitter says that’s disputed. Wonder why conservatives don’t trust big tech?” Haley said in a tweet. She posted side-by-side pictures of a tweet of hers flagged by Twitter and a tweet by Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei left untouched.
Wow. When Iran’s Ayatollah says the Holocaust didn’t happen, Twitter doesn’t say “this claim is disputed.” When I say ballot harvesting makes election fraud easier Twitter says that’s disputed. Wonder why conservatives don’t trust big tech? pic.twitter.com/5SGkqyOhUe
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) November 13, 2020
Haley’s flagged tweet said that “ballot harvesting” and mail-in voting makes committing voter fraud easier. Twitter placed a warning label on her tweet saying that her claim about voter fraud is “disputed.”
“Despite what the media tells us, election fraud does happen, and policies like ballot harvesting and mailing ballots to people who don’t request them makes it easier. That needs to stop,” Haley’s tweet said.
Despite what the media tells us, election fraud does happen, and
policies like ballot harvesting and mailing ballots to people who
don’t request them makes it easier. That needs to stop.@standamericanowRead more: https://t.co/CpTuLcPCmY
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) November 13, 2020
Haley compared her tweet to an Oct. 28 tweet from Khamenei in which the Iranian leader pushed back against assertions that questions over whether the Holocaust happened should be considered misinformation.
“The next question to ask is: why is it a crime to raise doubts about the Holocaust? Why should anyone who writes about such doubts be imprisoned while insulting the Prophet (pbuh) is allowed?” Khamenei said.
The next question to ask is: why is it a crime to raise doubts about the Holocaust? Why should anyone who writes about such doubts be imprisoned while insulting the Prophet (pbuh) is allowed?
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 28, 2020
Khamenei’s tweet was sent moments after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was grilled on Khamenei’s Holocaust denialism in a hearing on Capitol Hill. During the hearing, Dorsey said that while tweets on election interference and voter suppression may get flagged on his platform, Twitter has yet to make any policies covering Holocaust denialism. Dorsey admitted that he considered denying the Holocaust a form of misinformation.
As The Daily Wire reported:
“I know we’ve established content moderation can have certain upsides like combatting terrorism, but Twitter has chosen to approach content moderation from the standpoint of combatting misinformation, as well. So it’s strange to me that you flag the tweets from the president but haven’t hidden the ayatollah’s tweets on Holocaust denial or calls to wipe Israel off the map,” [Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO)] said.
Dorsey defended his platform by saying that the misinformation in the ayatollah’s tweets did not fall under Twitter’s rules against misinformation, which are limited to “manipulated media, public health – specifically COVID – and civic integrity and election interference and voter suppression.”
Denying the Holocaust “is misleading information,” Dorsey said, “but we don’t have a policy against that type of misleading information.”
The social media platform has flagged numerous tweets by President Trump as potential misinformation on voter fraud and election interference since Election Day. Trump has continued to allege that mass voter fraud and errors have given Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden the lead in several swing states, potentially handing the election to Biden. The Trump campaign and the GOP are pursuing litigation over the allegations in states such as Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.