Glenn Greenwald torches left-wing Twitter over “dystopian” permanent ban of another GOP lawmaker

Investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald is no conservative, but he is a staunch defender of the First Amendment and an enemy of tyranny, regardless of which side of the political aisle it is coming from.

That’s why he has been a frequent critic of the left-wing big tech platforms: They were founded as “electronic town squares” on the promise of promoting more democracy (and debate) but they have become nothing more than information gatekeepers for the globalist deep state, punishing and banishing users who refuse to echo the ‘chosen’ narrative.

And he took to Twitter, ironically, in a lengthy thread to rip the platform after it banned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), allegedly for ‘repeatedly’ posting COVID-19 “misinformation.”

Having unelected tech oligarchs ban duly elected members of Congress – or even the sitting President – from using their massive platforms is dystopian. Remember how many world leaders warned that FB & Twitter’s banning of Trump was a threat to democracy.https://t.co/zIT7l04hMW https://t.co/2BPFrgeZXv

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 2, 2022

“Having unelected tech oligarchs ban duly elected members of Congress – or even the sitting President – from using their massive platforms is dystopian. Remember how many world leaders warned that FB & Twitter’s banning of Trump was a threat to democracy,” he began in a tweet with a link to a CNBC article detailing Greene’s ban, which is permanent (her congressional account remains active, however).

“As American liberals (including their journalists) yet again celebrate and express gratitude to tech giants for silencing their political enemies — even elected officials — compare their mindset to how the rest of the democratic world thinks to see how authoritarian they are,” Greenwald continued in a tweet containing screengrabs of news stories showing world leaders including Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who blasted the platform when it banned former President Donald Trump.

As American liberals (including their journalists) yet again celebrate and express gratitude to tech giants for silencing their political enemies — even elected officials — compare their mindset to how the rest of the democratic world thinks to see how authoritarian they are. pic.twitter.com/PrPFctMWhr

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 2, 2022

“US liberals don’t realize what a rogue and authoritarian faction they are because their media outlets keep all dissent from them. When Big Tech banned Trump, it was denounced as dangerous by Merkel, Macron, UN & EU officials” and “AMLO,” the Mexican leader’s nickname, said Greenwald — who was booted from The Intercept, an outlet he co-founded, for being critical of its biased left-wing coverage.

US liberals don’t realize what a rogue and authoritarian faction they are because their media outlets keep all dissent from them. When Big Tech banned Trump, it was denounced as dangerous by Merkel, Macron, UN & EU officials. Listen to Mexico’s AMLO:pic.twitter.com/5cL5vqq3Ug

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 2, 2022

“Even as their Party and leaders are overwhelmingly funded by large corporations, Wall Street and Silicon Valley, Democrats and liberals still like to posture as opponents of corporate power, yet they crave having unelected tech executives control and police political discourse,” he added.

He then went on to point out the left’s monumental hypocrisy when it comes to their favoring selective censorship.

“The funniest part is how liberals invoke classic libertarian economics to justify this: ‘Corporations have the right to do what they want. If you don’t like it, start your own platform!’ Meanwhile, Dems say these platforms are classic illegal monopolies,” he continued before citing the example of Parler, which was deplatformed by Amazon Web Services because it was growing too fast and attracting too many conservative voices.

“But the more important point is this: Parler took up this challenge from liberals. They started their own platform to offer greater free speech. Soon as they became the nation’s most-downloaded app, Dems demanded its destruction & tech monopolies obeyed,” he said in a tweet containing a link to a story he wrote on his Substack describing how Parler was taken down for months.

But the more important point is this: Parler took up this challenge from liberals. They started their own platform to offer greater free speech.

Soon as they became the nation’s most-downloaded app, Dems demanded its destruction & tech monopolies obeyed:https://t.co/qD9OdwlPbV

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 2, 2022

“One last point: this censorship is not the sole decision of tech companies. Dems are using their majoritarian in DC power to threaten that they will pay unless they censor more. That’s a union of state and corporate power and implicates the 1st Amendment,” he noted further, pointing to another of his Substack pieces further explaining his point.

“Democrats have long been making clear that a top priority — not ancillary — is the removal of their political adversaries from social media. Democratic politicians have been demanding it. You can see by how happy they are today how vital is it to them,” Greenwald continued in a tweet containing a video clip of left-wing Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) calling for more big tech censorship of conservatives.

Democrats have long been making clear that a top priority — not ancillary — is the removal of their political adversaries from social media. Democratic politicians have been demanding it. You can see by how happy they are today how vital is it to them:pic.twitter.com/j64rCdZ82L

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 2, 2022

“The promise of the internet was it would *liberate* us from centralized state and corporate control. By demanding imposition of a censorship regime, liberals destroyed that vision, and now ensure that everyone is further balkanized into their own venues,” he concluded, adding: “It’s really amazing that the political faction obsessed with deploying a union of state and corporate power to silence their political opponents has somehow convinced itself that they’re the ones fighting — rather than constructing — a fascist order.”

There is a free-speech alternative, however: Brighteon.Social.

Sources:

ThreadReaderApp.com

Greenwald.Substack.com