Twitter suspended Internet Accountability Project (IAP) founder Mike Davis on Sunday after the anti-Big Tech activist defended a post comparing CNN’s Brian Stelter to the Gimp from “Pulp Fiction.”
Davis’s suspension stemmed from his criticizing Twitter for temporarily suspending former Trump Treasury Department staffer Will Upton for the initial post.
“Fun fact… [Brian Stelter] is The Gimp from Pulp Fiction,” Upton wrote in response to Stelter on Sunday asking White House press secretary Jen Psaki what she believes the media gets wrong in its coverage of the Biden administration.
Fun fact… @brianstelter is The Gimp from Pulp Fiction. https://t.co/Yoxp3vDDQV
— Will Upton (@wupton) June 6, 2021
Upton’s suspension was lifted upon appeal after the former Treasury public affairs staffer examined the company’s rules and found that “comparing a public figure to a fictional movie character does not violate their terms of service.”
LOL. This tweet got me temporarily suspended from Twitter… I appealed… and won. I simply pointed out that comparing a public figure to a fictional movie character does not violate their terms of service. https://t.co/bruTlnCxx5
— Will Upton (@wupton) June 7, 2021
After Davis came to Upton’s defense over the suspension, Davis wound up in Twitter jail himself.
“I’d be very upset if I were The Gimp, as well. But you know The Gimp’s a fictional character, right?” Davis wrote.
So @twitter suspends @wupton for comparing Stelter to a fictional movie character…Upton appeals & has his suspension lifted…yet Twitter decides to suspend @mrddmia for defending Upton?
You can make anti-Trump misinfo go viral on twitter, but don't you dare insult CNN! 🙄🙄🙄 pic.twitter.com/AnDuSabBY1
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) June 7, 2021
Twitter did not immediately respond to The Federalist’s request for comment, but lifted Davis’ suspension shortly after the publication of this article Monday afternoon.
Davis, who also runs Unsilenced Majority and the Article III project, was also suspended from the platform in January before the company reinstated him, admitting a mistake. The suspension came over a post demanding prosecution for those who engage in political terrorism.
“Federal, state, and local law enforcement must *never* tolerate *any* political violence,” Davis wrote. “Prosecute *all* of them — not just based upon their political views. … Lock ’em up.”
Twitter said the brief suspension was a product of its spam filter mistakenly flagging the post for removal.
“We have systems that find and remove multiple automated spam accounts in bulk, and yours was flagged as spam by mistake,” the company wrote after an outpour of backlash from prominent users.
This article has been updated since publication.
Source: The Federalist
