Twitter Punishment of Breitbart Journalist Sparks Revolt
Outspoken conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, who goes by the Twitter handle @Nero, announced to his followers Friday that Twitter had removed the blue “verified” badge from his account, and warned that this could be the start of a conservative “purge” on the social media platform. Now, conservatives on Twitter have staged a revolt, complete with #JeSuisMilo hashtag.
On Friday, Milo tweeted this to his 136,000 followers:
I’ve been sat on the naughty table! pic.twitter.com/2ppJ3X4J62
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) January 8, 2016
I have a feeling that Twitter is gearing up to purge conservatives. Unverifying me is the first step toward a permanent ban.
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) January 8, 2016
There's something quite punk rock about being stripped of your status for having the wrong opinions. I'm starting to like it.
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) January 9, 2016
Something else to consider: by unverifying me, Twitter is pushing my articles further down hashtags and searches, prioritising SJW content.
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) January 9, 2016
Why They’re Scared pic.twitter.com/x9JwnTjKQW
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) January 9, 2016
help me daddy @realDonaldTrump
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) January 9, 2016
As @LouiseMensch says: if Twitter is going to be overtly political, it should be honest with users and say so now. https://t.co/hTlv9rEvx6
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) January 9, 2016
Twitter’s notice to Yiannopoulos doesn’t specify the violation he is alleged to be guilty of, and while the gay conservative provocateur is, indeed, an outspoked presence on social media, it stands to reason that if he’d really done something to violate Twitter’s policies, he’d be suspended, not unverified. A person can’t say something that makes them less of who they are.
If the response to his punishment is any indication, Twitter will have a huge headache on its hands, as Twitter users have banded together in support of Yiannopoulos. The hashtag became a number one trending topic, and many users voied their support by using his photo as their avatar:
Seriously now I think I'm going insaaaaaaaane. @nero @DaddyWarpig pic.twitter.com/UMKPxiW40H
— Jeff B@AoSHQDD (@EsotericCD) January 9, 2016
I'm @Nero now. Everything is @Nero. We all are @Nero. @Nero is love. @Nero is life.
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@TNorrisYEG) January 9, 2016
Twitter unverified @Nero. He is now trending, giving him more publicity. If twitter wanted to take away his influence, this was a bad move
— Mitchell Sunderland (@mitchsunderland) January 9, 2016
"Socialism: if you build it, they will leave." #TotalitarianImpulse
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) January 9, 2016
Is #JeSuisMilo the first time a gay conservative has trended on Twitter? And is Lindsay Graham jealous?
A JOKE! Lindsay isn't conservative!
— Lee Stranahan (@stranahan) January 9, 2016
As of this writing, Milo Yiannopoulos’ status has still not been restored.
(h/t TheBlaze)
