The Twitterverse has more to fear from a gay conservative than a fire-breathing ISIS recruiter if the social media giant’s treatment of a pair of prolific and provocative posters is to be squared.
Twitter banned Breitbart tech editor and openly gay conservative Milo Yiannopoulos for life last month after his followers tweeted objectionable comments targeting African-American “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones, but a recent case in London’s Old Bailey shows Twitter took a hands-off approach to the poisonous posts of Anjem Choudary.
Jurors in the United Kingdom were told this week that British authorities repeatedly sought to get Choudary’s Twitter posts and YouTube videos taken down after his pledge of allegiance to ISIS surfaced online. Choudary, who in interviews with Fox News and other media has for years made no secret of his embrace of Shariah law and Islamic radicalism, was convicted Tuesday of “inviting support for a proscribed organization,” namely ISIS. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced next month.
During the trial, prosecutors complained that despite Choudary’s incendiary Tweets and YouTube videos, they had no power to force social media companies to remove the material.
It’s a sharp contrast to the treatment Twitter last month afforded Yiannopoulos, who was banned from the 140-character forum after his “Ghostbusters” tweets, but says the ban is a reaction to years of conservative posts.
“An Islamic hate preacher convicted of inciting terrorism: fine,” Yiannopoulos told FoxNews.com. “A gay man expressing concern about Muslim immigration: not fine. Welcome to the new, Shariah-compliant Twitter.”
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