Twitter appears to have removed its blue “verified” checkmark from Twitter users who have posted content on the microblogging site that contradicts the views touted and held acceptable by the liberal mainstream, writes the U.S. right-wing portal Breitbart. Referring to posts made by different U.S. journalists, the paper writes that media workers lost the badge just hours after publishing content sensitive for the Obama administration. Each of the discredited accounts reported on the abuse of government surveillance powers by the former Democratic president.
Although Twitter, which is mainly used to share short text posts in English, is not very popular among Hungarian users compared to other countries, the small blue check mark symbol, which is intended to indicate the authenticity of an account or a user, maybe familiar to Hungarian audiences, too. It is primarily “deserved” by public figures, celebrities, and large international corporations, and serves to mark the authenticity of the profile.
August Takala, a former employee of the right-wing news channel Fox News, was stripped of the badge that is especially important to opinion leaders, after posting an interview on the microblog with former CBC reporter Sharyl Atkinson. In the article, Atkinson reported that Barack Obama’s justice department was spying on her computer looking for compromising information. The former CBC journalist also had a long-running legal battle with the U.S. Department of Justice over this, but the case was suspended. Recently, however, a whistleblower provided new information, leading to motions to reopen the case.
Josh Lekach, host of the English-language podcast Wrong Opinion, suffered the same fate after interviewing political activist Laura Loomer. Among other things, Loomer is known in the U.S. for filing a lawsuit against Twitter and similar technology companies for their politically biased censorship.
Author: Loretta Tóth
https://magyarnemzet.hu/kulfold/cenzuraz-a-twitter-8164553/