Rep. Jim Banks presses Elon Musk to overhaul Twitter; platform must 'reverse course & protect freedom'
By newseditors // 2022-04-07
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Indiana Rep. Jim Banks sent a letter on Wednesday calling Twitter’s single largest shareholder, Elon Musk, to revise the platform’s censorship policies, which he says have “explicitly banned telling the truth.” (Article republished from HarbingersDaily.com) “Now that you are Twitter’s single largest shareholder, I urge you to advocate for revising Twitter’s content policy to allow all speech that is both lawful and factually accurate,” he wrote. “This would be a basic but important step towards restoring free expression to a platform that you described as the ‘de facto public town square’,” “While this change is simple, it would significantly alter Twitter’s current censorship practices. Twitter has censored an alarming number of true statements,” he asserted. “For example, Twitter suspended me last October 3 for a factually correct tweet about biological sex and most recently suspended critics of NCAA transgender athlete Lia Thomas.” “Considering Twitter’s content policy has explicitly banned telling the truth, this shouldn’t be surprising,” he stressed. “In 2021, Twitter changed its terms of service to prohibit all ‘false or misleading claims that people who have received the vaccine can spread or shed the virus. Of course, the COVID vaccine does not prevent the transmission of the virus.” “This is an inflection point for Twitter,” Banks told the Daily Caller. “They can continue down the current path of censorship and erosion of public trust or they can reverse course and protect freedom of expression.” “Mr. Musk has an impressive record of success, and unlike most Big Tech executives, does not seem afraid of the woke mob,” he added. “I hope and expect he will change Twitter for the better.” Musk, on many occasions, has voiced his concern with attacks on free speech. Late last month, the billionaire took a Twitter poll that asked: “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?” With over 2 million votes cast, the response was a resounding “No” from 70.5% of participants. Musk the following day underscored that because “Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.” Many Evangelicals such as Franklin Graham view Elon Musk’s new stake in Twitter as a promising step in the right direction for a platform that has waged war on Biblical Truth. “Elon Musk puts his money where his mouth is! Elon has called out Twitter for stifling free speech, and he just did something about it. He bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter that is now worth $3.5 billion. Now that he’s the company’s largest shareholder, maybe Twitter will start to take his—and our—free speech concerns seriously,” Graham wrote optimistically. Many have pointed out that, overwhelmingly, Christians and conservatives have received the brunt of Twitter’s heavy-handed censorship. Author and Stand Up For The Truth Radio Host David Fiorazo recently spoke of the out-of-control silencing and intolerance of the Biblical worldview on social media. “The left can’t win arguments and debates because their policies are awful and their worldview is warped,” he explained, adding that it is because of the big tech companies’ “rejection of God” that they have opted to “silence those who disagree with them and who hold to a biblical worldview.” “I’ve contacted over a dozen pastor friends and conservative leaders of Christian ministries or non-profits,” he described. “Almost every single one of them said similar things about why they were banned, censored, deleted, or warned by big tech or social media platforms. It comes down to intolerance of the biblical worldview.” Fiorazo further pointed out that Big Tech organizations don’t seem to mind silent Christians who follow in line with their chosen narrative. Instead, it is “remnant believers who are unashamed of the name of Jesus and the Gospel” that concern them. Jan Markell, Founder and President of Olive Tree Ministries, recently warned that Christians are being “punished by big tech for telling the truth.” “They are in love with evil and think righteousness is dangerous,” Markell asserted. The apostle Paul warned that in the time prior to the return of Christ, “men of corrupt minds” will “resist the truth” and be “reprobate concerning the faith” (2 Timothy 3:8-9). This Biblical description well summarizes what we are currently seeing from the progressive left and their lawless Social Media comrades. Romans 1:18 states that the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against” those “who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” The word “hold” in this verse, comes from the Greek word “κατέχω,” which means to “hold back,” “restrain,” or “hinder.” “What we are seeing is totalitarian and un-American,” David Fiorazo further maintained. “We knew a leftist government was capable of communist policy, but we are seeing a dangerous, one-party (D) big tech media conglomerate suppress speech and cancel American citizens.” Fiorazo added that although the suppression of truth and many other occurrences are “alarming,” they are also Biblically prophetic. “Know the facts, understand the times we’re living in, beware of leftist virtue signaling and please do your research,” he emphasized, pressing the body of Christ to “refuse to be silent.” Ideally, Elon Musk will bring significant changes to Twitter’s policies. However, whether the stifling of free speech remains unrestrained or not, a Believer’s objective remains the same: to be an unashamed restraining force for Christ in our increasingly dark world (Matthew 5:13-16). Read more at: HarbingersDaily.com
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