Twitter has temporarily suspended the account of Montana Senator Steve Daines after he posted a series of photos of himself hunting in Africa. The photos sparked criticism from animal rights activists, leading Twitter to suspend Daines’ account for violating its policy against “glorifying violence”. Daines has since criticized Twitter for the suspension, claiming it is an attack on his First Amendment rights.
Twitter suspended and then restored the account of Republican Montana Senator Steve Daines over a profile picture showing the lawmaker hunting with his wife.
The photo shows the pair holding a dead antelope that has tiny bloodstains, an image Twitter originally said hurt Rules against posting “graphic violence,” according to a press release from the senator. The company defines graphic violence as content that contains depictions of “bodily fluids, including blood.” Twitter suspended Daines’ account Monday night before it was restored on Tuesday, his office said.
“This will be fixed,” said Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk in one tweet. “The policy against showing blood on profile picture will be changed to ‘show blood prominently without clicking on profile picture’.”
The temporary suspension shows how Twitter is still struggling to moderate content, even after Musk bought the company for $44 billion last year. The billionaire presents himself as a free speech advocate but has changed his mind about what is and isn’t allowed on the social media site. Under his leadership, Twitter temporarily suspended an account tracking Musk’s jet, as well as accounts of journalists and others. Twitter, like Facebook, also restored former US President Donald Trump’s account after the politician was suspended from the site for nearly two years for violating rules against incitement to violence.
Daines’ account suspension also sparked criticism from Republicans, who began tweeting #FreeSteveDaines, urging Musk to reverse the decision. Republicans have repeatedly claimed that Twitter is censoring conservative speech, allegations the social media company has repeatedly denied. Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Daines, who has more than 86,000 followers on Twitter, said in a statement he was grateful Musk reached out to him and he thanked the CEO on Twitter.
“The initial ban on my wife and I’s profile photo after a successful antelope hunt in Montana was disappointing given that it is no different from the photos Montanans share on social media every day,” he said.
Source: www.cnet.com
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