Twitter Bans Trump Supporters, Escalates Anti Thought-Crime

Following the insidious trend of politically-correct invasions of the tech world (read our tech insider interview here), social media giant Twitter has recently found itself right in the center of the conflict. A new progressive-populated overwatch, suspension of right wing accounts, and slumping stock prices are mixing together into a storm that may prove disastrous for the company.

On February 9, Twitter announced the formation of the Trust & Safety Council, an administrative coalition “working for safety and free expression,” and to “ensure that people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter.” These two lofty goals seem like the silver bullet for any online social media corporation, enabling both free speech and a welcoming environment for all. However, human experience shows that free speech is necessarily uncomfortable, and that safety requires the entertainment of unpopular, sometimes offensive, ideas. The creation of a council dedicated to monitor the content of it’s 320-million active users, and to develop “products, policies and programs,” does not reflect Twitter’s claimed respect for free expression.

Here are some of the most telling incumbents to the Trust & Safety Council:

• Anti-Defamation League, an ultra-zionist group dedicated to fighting anti-semitism.
• Dangerous Speech Project, who can identify and discourage “dangerous” speech.
• Feminist Frequency, notorious critics of “sexist” video games, amongst other activities.
• GLAAD, promoting acceptance of homosexuality by “Shaping the media narrative. Changing the culture.”
• Hollaback, a harassment-reporting initiative whose efforts have had amusing results on leftist discussions.
• The Wahid Institue, “seeding plural and peaceful Islam.”
• Without My Consent, a group that “empowers victims of egregious online privacy violations.”

However, there seems to be nothing protecting those who challenge the progressive status quo, as supporters of Donald Trump are already finding out. As if to foreshadow the planned increase in thought-policing, Breitbart.com reported on the silent, inexplicable banning of the Twitter accounts belonging to Trump’s supporters and other conservatives, including the popular journalist Milo Yiannopoulos. The only stated reasons have been infringements of the terms of service.

These moves are the modern version of the chaotic final stages of a corporations lifecycle.

When growth stagnates, other concerns come into focus, and dissenting voices of established users become more important in order to maintain market share. Over the last year, Twitter stock prices have steadily fallen, with very few gains and the only consistency coming from their slow drop. As of February 10, stock prices are only USD 14.40, the lowest ever from the all-time high of USD ~75.00 several years ago.

Twitter is now worth $10 billion, less than Snapchat or Pinterest, who have fewer active users than Twitter even when their userbases are combined. These recent actions by administration will likely drive an exodus of users to other character-limited social media sites, such as Plurk, the decentralised Twister, and GNUSocial.

With the company’s future burning up for all to see, a takeover by another corporation seems likely. However, with social justice initiatives rotting away the structure of the site, it’s also likely that the ashes of Twitter will simply be left as a warning sign to future entrepreneurs.

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