At least one Big Tech company has not joined in on the coordinated purge of Alex Jones and Infowars over the vague (largely leftist) definition of “hate speech.” Despite calls from a left-wing mob to ban the conspiracy theorist, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is holding the line.
Speaking to his four million followers on Wednesday, Dorsey said that while Alex Jones indeed spreads false information, Twitter will not be banning him since he has violated no rules.
“Accounts like Jones’ can often sensationalize issues and spread unsubstantiated rumors,” Dorsey acknowledged, adding that “it’s critical journalists document, validate, and refute such information.”
“Truth is, we’ve been terrible at explaining our decisions in the past,” the exec tweeted. “We’re fixing that. We’re going to hold Jones to the same standard we hold to every account, not taking one-off actions to make us feel good in the short term, and adding fuel to new conspiracy theories.”
A spokesman for Twitter further confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday that Jones did not violate any rules and would not be banned.
For whatever reason, Dorsey now feels that mobs should not dictate whether or not an account stays on the social media platform, even going as far to say “that’s not us.”
Dorsey tweeted: “If we succumb and simply react to outside pressure, rather than straightforward principles we enforce (and evolve) impartially regardless of political viewpoints, we become a service that’s constructed by our personal views that can swing in any direction. That’s not us.”
A blog Dorsey linked to featured Twitter VP trust and safety Del Harvey arguing that “offensive” perspectives should be allowed on the platform. “Twitter is reflective of real conversations happening in the world and that sometimes includes perspectives that may be offensive, controversial, and/or bigoted.”