Twitter jumps on conservative content at the first opportunity. But how long does it take for the platform to remove actual threatening posts? If the target is conservative, the answer is too long.
On August 30, shortly after a memorial service for the late Sen. John McCain, a Twitter user doctored an image of a weeping Meghan McCain and posted it to his page. The image was altered to make it look like a semi-automatic handgun was pointed at his daughter’s chest. The caption read, “America, this ones for you.”
Her husband Ben Domenech of The Federalist took a screenshot of the tweet and shared it, tagging Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Domenech wrote, “Hey, @jack, this has been up for half a day. It has been reported 100+ times. No response. Tell me why this is cool for you.”
In follow up tweets, Domenech wrote, “You should prepare an answer for the people pissed off at you. A hint: the entire committee.” This was in reference to the House hearing scheduled on September 5, where Dorsey is set to testify in front of the Committee.
After eight hours, the user locked his account, according to Domenech. Twitter did not respond until sometime this morning, when the account was taken down completely. Twitter’s rules include a ban on “specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm.” “Targeted harassment” is also banned.
