Woke Corporate Hypocrisy

Update: When Twitter failed to follow its own account suspension policies, NTC grassroots advocates took action. They sent countless emails to CEO Jack Dorsey demanding that Twitter follow their own rules and stop giving Adeel Raja a prominent place on their platform to promote hate and violence.  Yet again, Twitter failed to follow its own policies on account suspension, this time giving a pass to a reporter who has repeatedly praised Hitler and called for others to continue his murder of the Jews. On May 16 as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians continued, CNN freelance contributor Adeel Raja used his verified “Blue Check” account to tweet, “The world today needs a Hitler.” This vile tweet prompted other Twitter users to discover that Raja has been using the platform to spew pro-Hitler bile for years. “Hail Hitler!” Raja declared in July of 2014. “The only reason I am supporting Germany in the finals — Hitler was a German and he did good with those Jews!” he wrote that same year. CNN has since publicly cut ties with Raja, but Twitter continues to allow him to push his anti-Jewish hate with the added benefit of his verified status. Raja deleted the tweets, but then doubled down a day later, tweeting on May 17: “Glad a single tweet contributed to the #Palestine cause and brought it to limelight with me loosing [sic] my job and the West’s claim of Freedom of expression and human rights!” In the past, Twitter has removed verified (“Blue Check”) status, suspended, and even de-platformed accounts entirely that the social media site has deemed to promote hate. Their own rules and policies state that Twitter prohibits “content that wishes, hopes, promotes, incites, or expresses a desire for death, serious bodily harm, or serious disease against an entire protected category and/or individuals who may be members of that category.” For Twitter users, the selective enforcement of the platform’s “hateful conduct” policy has created mass confusion about what is and is not considered acceptable speech—but if wishing for another Hitler in this world does not meet that criteria, what does!? It’s been 76 years since the end of World War II, but for those still living who survived the Holocaust, as well as the families of those who did not, the pain of Adolf Hitler’s evil is still very real. Providing a stage for Adeel Raja to hope for a second Hitler—and the authoritative limelight that comes with a verified account—is beyond the pale.