January 12, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — The populist and left-leaning president of Mexico said he does not like anybody “being censored” on social media in light of U.S. president Donald Trump being banned from Twitter and Facebook late last week.
“I always say what I think, something that I did not like yesterday about the Capitol affair, nothing more than respect, respect. But I don’t like censorship. I don’t like anyone being censored or taking away the right to transmit a message on Twitter or Face[book]. I do not agree with that; I do not accept that,” said Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador last Thursday at a press conference, as translated from Spanish to English.
“We all have to limit ourselves and guarantee freedom. How is it that I censor you and you can no longer transmit if we are for freedoms?”
Last Friday, Twitter permanently banned Trump’s account after first giving him a 12-hour suspension from the site.
Twitter alleged that Trump broke the platform’s Glorification of Violence policy, which limits posts that “glorify, celebrate, praise or condone violent crimes, violent events where people were targeted because of their membership in a protected group[.]”
Facebook and its subsidiary, s subsidiary, Instagram, said they were banning Trump “indefinitely” as well.
López made comments about social media censorship as part of a long answer in response to whether he was interested in monetizing his popular official government YouTube channel.
He responded that he does not like the idea of monetizing his channel, as he is a “public official, a public servant.”
His answer then drifted to the topic of the censorship of Trump by Twitter and Facebook.
“How can you censor someone? ‘Let’s see, I, as the judge of the Holy Inquisition, will punish you because I think what you’re saying is harmful.’ … Where is the law, where is the regulation, what are the norms? This is an issue of government; this is not an issue for private companies,” said López.
“Imagine that Twitter as a company decides: ‘You do not — because what you are saying is harmful, harmful or damaging, it goes against the good customs of the police and good government side.’ Let’s say that, because if social networks are censored, what will be left? … So freedom is fully expressed on social media[.] … If there begins to be censorship, there is cause for concern.”
In November of 2020, Obrador said Mexico “cannot act recklessly” in congratulating Joe Biden as the “potential” winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential elections until official results were posted.
PETITION UPDATE (2/23/21) -
LifeSite has signed on to a Media Research Center (MRC) letter to all 50 state Attorneys General, calling for an investigation into Big Tech.
Google, Facebook, and Twitter have monopolized the industry, and are using their influence to collect user data, suppress content, and silence those who voice ideas and beliefs counter to their own.
As we urged prior, action must be taken to combat these efforts, and that is why we’ve joined the MRC in this fight.
Please take a couple of minutes to READ this LifeSiteNews article about MRC's initiative: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/lifesite-joins-effort-asking-state-attorneys-general-to-investigate-big-tech-for-deceptive-trade-practices
Then, please SIGN and STOP using Twitter, Facebook, Google (YouTube) and Amazon to take back your privacy and freedom of speech!
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PETITION UPDATE (2/9/21) -
YouTube just completely removed the LifeSiteNews YouTube channel. This isn’t a ban, every single one of our videos is completely gone. Being completely removed from YouTube means we’ve lost access to 300,000+ followers.
This is the latest and appalling affront to free speech which is happening to many conservative and Christian organizations.
Please SIGN this petition and STOP using YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google (owner of YouTube) and Amazon to take back your privacy and freedom of speech!
We are not going to take this lying down!
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PETITION UPDATE (1/26/20) -
Twitter has again locked LifeSiteNews out of two of our accounts on the platform for displaying a message noting that President Joe Biden’s newly named Assistant Secretary of Health “Rachel” Levine is a man.
Both accounts displayed a simple message which read: “Biden names transgender ‘woman’ as Assistant Secretary of Health. ‘Rachel’ Levine is a father of two who divorced his wife in 2013 after 30 years of marriage.” The tweets also included a link to LifeSite’s article Biden names transgender ‘woman’ as Assistant Secretary of Health, and contained part of the opening sentence of that article, “Joe Biden has announced his intention to appoint a gender-confused man” as Assistant Secretary of Health.
For stating biological or Biblical truths, Twitter and Big Tech are trying to shut down conservative voices.
Therefore, it is now more important than ever to consider dumping Twitter, Google (who own YouTube) and Facebook. To be clear: LifeSite is still using Twitter and Big Tech to encourage others to migrate away from these illiberal platforms.
This is not the first time that LifeSiteNews has been censored by Twitter. In December 2019, Twitter indefinitely suspended our account for a tweet that linked to an article on transgender activist Jonathan “Jessica” Yaniv.
At the time, Twitter gave LifeSite the option to delete the tweet and reactivate our account right away. LifeSite remained steadfast that the tweet did not violate any of the company’s “rules and policies,” and sought several appeals with Twitter, while looking into legal action against the company.
And, while LifeSite's account was eventually restored, we must now consider what course of action we will pursue in this case, over and above appealing the ban.
Meanwhile, since taking office on Wednesday last week, Joe Biden has already signed an executive order which will force women’s athletic programs, restrooms, and locker rooms to be open to men. He has also turned back the Trump administration’s policy protecting women’s sports programs in schools.
Last week, LifeSite was banned for two weeks from our YouTube channel, after the site determined that one of our videos about vaccines violated YouTube’s “community guidelines.” We are also in the middle of appealing this ban.
Please considering SIGNING and SHARING this petition. Thank you!
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Twitter just deplatformed President Trump premanently! And, other conservatives, including General Flynn and Sidney Powell, were also summarily deplatformed.
Conservatives, Christians and freedom-loving Americans of all political persuasions must now take a decision to preserve their free speech AND their ability to peaceably assemble by dumping Twitter and Big Tech, and by finding other good alternatives to communicate with each other and share their opinions.
Please SIGN our petition-pledge to Dump Twitter and Big Tech, and take back your freedom of speech and privacy. [CLICK HERE for our "Goodbye Google" resources page to find good alternatives to Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and Google!]
When you use Twitter or Facebook to communicate, and, or, Google and Amazon to search for something online, these companies can stifle your ability to share your thoughts and opinions and manipulate your search results, threatening your privacy, your freedom of speech, and even our democracy.
Evidence suggests that Twitter and Facebook's 'community guidelines' are selectively enforced against conservatives and Christians, while Google rigs their search algorithms to direct traffic away from conservative and Christian websites, effectively choking traffic to those sites.
Simply put, Twitter, Facebook, Google (who owns YouTube) and Amazon appear to be actively suppressing access to pro-freedom, pro-family and pro-life news and opinion.
Don't contribute to this assault on democracy: Stop using Twitter, Facebook, Google and Amazon as your default social media platforms and search engine! [CLICK HERE to find a good alternative to Google.]
To repeat: a few liberal and completely unaccountable computer programmers in Silicon Valley are dictating what we do and do not see in our Twitter and Facebook feeds, and in our Google searches.
We, here, at LifeSite, also recently had our Twitter account suspended by the company over "misgendering" a man who claims to be a woman.
LifeSite has also experienced a fall-off in Google search-related traffic since the company updated its search algorithms at the beginning of May.
And, since the November election, Twitter and Big Tech appear to have dramatically INCREASED their censorship of conservatives and Christians as the President Trump disputed the results of the election and when evidence of election fraud began to mount.
Now, it seems likely that they are trying to cut-off conservative leaders (like President Trump) from conservatives on the ground, and effectively exclude us from the national conversation.
But, this tactic will not work. Because Twitter, Facebook, Google and Amazon are not the only game in town! There are a good number of excellent alternatives which we list in our 'Goodbye Google' Resources page.
The great irony is that, while Twitter, Facebook, Google and Amazon executives talk a lot about maintaining freedom of speech and diversity, in fact, these hypocrites are ATTACKING free speech point-blank!
This kind of manipulation poses a lethal threat to our democracy, but as we see so clearly now, Twitter and Big Tech have shown no hesitation in excluding conservatives and Christians from the public square.
So, at this point, the only way to stop Twitter, Facebook, Google and Amazon is to quit using their platform.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition to pledge to stop using Twitter and Big Tech. Then, please CLICK HERE to find alternative search engines and social media platforms. Thank you!
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'BREAKING: Twitter permanently bans President Trump from platform' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-twitter-permanently-bans-president-trump-from-platform
WATCH LifeSite's exclusive series - 'Big Tech vs Free Speech' - of interviews with experts on how Big Tech censorship is killing free speech: https://www.lifesitenews.com/bigtech/
From YouTube to social media and beyond, online censorship is rampant. Read the latest articles covering this ongoing struggle: https://lifefacts.lifesitenews.com/goodbye-google/censorship/
He was one of the last world leaders to congratulate Joe Biden, doing so only in late December, having sent a letter to Biden to congratulate him on his “triumph.”
According to an AP report about López’s remarks regarding censorship, his confidant and spokesperson Jesús Ramírez said the censorship of Trump from social media means there should be a call for a “debate” on free thought on the internet and the role of social media giants.
“Facebook’s decision to silence the current leader of the United States calls for a debate on freedom of expression, the free exchange of information on the web, democracy and the role of the companies that administer [social] networks,” said Ramírez.
Last Wednesday, Trump gave a speech to a large crowd at the White House Ellipse in Washington, D.C. saying, “We will never concede when theft is involved” regarding the 2020 presidential elections.
Trump’s speech took place as a joint session of Congress was being held to certify the results of the Electoral College’s votes.
Shortly after speaking, the vast majority of participants at the rally marched peacefully to the Capitol to voice their concerns over alleged election fraud claimed by Trump.
A small number of protesters stormed the Capitol Building, some with alleged ties to Antifa. A few of them made it inside, seemingly without going through any security. This resulted in the joint session of Congress being promptly postponed, with politicians inside ushered away to an undisclosed location.
A video that has over 33 million views apparently shows U.S. Capitol Police quietly relinquishing erected barricades, allowing a few protesters to access the Capitol Building.
In the early hours of January 7, Congress confirmed the electoral vote for Joe Biden as the next president of the U.S. Trump then said he would commit to an “an orderly transition” of power.
Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran of 14 years, was shot to death in the resulting chaos. A Capitol Police officer also died from injuries during the incident.
Trump later told the protesters on Capitol Hill to go home “in peace,” a message Twitter promptly flagged with the message, “This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this Tweet can’t be replied to, retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence.”
Trump also denounced the protesters who had entered the U.S. Capitol, calling the action “heinous.”
In one of his last tweets before his account was shut down, Trump said he will not be attending the inauguration of Biden next week.
As for López, he noted that he is not planning on attending Biden’s inauguration, either.
The AP report also notes that López was hesitant to provide a comment regarding last Wednesday’s events at the Capitol in D.C., stating that his administration does not “meddle in the affairs of other nations.”
López is not the only high-profile world leader to question the social media ban of Trump from Twitter. Recently, German chancellor Angela Merkel declared that she found the ban “problematic.”