(LifeSiteNews) — In the opening segment of a recent episode of his daily show the day after What is Woman film was shown on Twitter, Matt Walsh related the stunning details of his battle with Twitter that eventually led to extremely high views for the film over the next several days. At the time this segment was broadcast, Walsh greatly underestimated the extent of the boost that Elon Musk’s endorsement would eventually give the film. See the segment below.
Many likely consider Walsh’s rollercoaster battle with Twitter over the film, which The Daily Wire first released last year, to be an historic one for freedom of speech. Twitter had initially agreed to an ad package with the conservative outlet that would help the video get in front of more views. The company then backtracked and promised to throttle the film, making it harder for people to see the film.
The movie currently has nearly 180 million views on Twitter which may be unprecedented for a documentary after only a few day of viewing in any medium.
Walsh noted that Twitter initially blocked it from feeds and banned users from retweeting it, since it “interfere[d] with healthy conversations.” Walsh also pointed out that the hashtag “WhatIsAWoman” was blocked from the trending list, which helps ensure other users see particular content.
It was only after Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, stepped in on June 1 and allowed for sharing the content that the viewing explosion began. Musk personally tweeted a link to the video and encouraged people to watch it.
Every parent should watch this https://t.co/pIp6UP6vq8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2023
Walsh said he and others at The Daily Wire were hearing from sources that Musk was “furious” about the censorship of the film. He notes that “safety” executives who censor content began to resign during the controversy. Musk later confirmed the resignations were related to the controversy.
Then, late in the night, the movie was showing up in more feeds. “It was wild ride for 24-hours,” Walsh said.
He said that leftists still remain “embedded” in Twitter and that Musk is still fighting with them.
“Given how everything worked out it seems clear that Elon intended for the film to be distributed uncensored on the platform but the woke elements inside the company stepped in to sabotage it,” the Daily Wire host said.
“The good news is that they are being rooted out, they are being exposed,” Walsh said.
There was one other lesson that conservatives learned.
He said the “Left cannot win” without bending the rules.
“The Left cannot win in a fair fight, they cannot meet us out on the field in a pitched battle and hope to prevail,” he said.
They suppress and censor and de-platform because they know their position is insane, they know it can’t be intellectually or morally defended, they know their arguments are laughable and flimsy, they know that their claims fall apart under the slightest scrutiny.
He said if “open conversation” on gender ideology was freely allowed, “trans ideology would disappear overnight.”
“The entire ideology hides behind a fortress of censorship because it is easily destroyed out in the open,” Walsh said, adding that, despite all the censorship, “we win.”