After The Tennessee Star reported a factual story on Friday about Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signing a bill into law making Ivermectin available over-the-counter, Twitter has locked The Tennessee Star out of its account.
The social media giant said that The Star’s reporting might pose a risk to public health, and in response, The Star will not be able to post any content for several hours.
“As a result, we’ve added a label to the above Tweet(s) and temporarily limited some of your account features,” the microblogging site said. “While in this state, you can still browse Twitter, but you’re limited to only sending Direct Messages to your followers — no Tweets, Retweets, follows or likes.”
But after The Tennessee Star appealed Twitter’s initial decision, another automated message from the company said that The Star’s account could be locked for a week or more.
“After careful review, we determined your account broke the Twitter Rules,” that message said. “Your account is temporarily in read-only mode, which means you can’t Tweet, Retweet, or Like content. Most accounts regain full access in a week, but it could take longer.”
It remains unclear just how long The Star will be limited in using the application.
At issue is an article noting that Lee signed SB 2188 into law after it was approved by a vast majority of both the Tennessee House and Senate.
“Lee signed SB 2188, approved by the State Senate, 66-20, and the State House, 22-6, which authorizes a pharmacist to provide ivermectin to patients 18 years of age or older, ‘pursuant to a valid collaborative pharmacy practice agreement containing a non-patient-specific prescriptive order and standardized procedures developed and executed by one or more authorized prescribers,'” The Star reported.
Last week, Twitter’s board approved a bid by Tesla CEO and majority owner Elon Musk to purchase the social media site for $44 billion. The deal may take up to six months before it finally closes. Musk promised free speech to all Twitter users under his ownership.
“By ‘free speech’, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law,” the world’s richest man tweeted after purchasing the company. “If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”
By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.
I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.
If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.
Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022
It is unclear the extent to which Musk is involved in the company’s operations at this time.
Musk is taking the company private, but as of Friday it was still trading publicly, suggesting that he is not yet completely in charge.
On Friday Reuters reported Twitter’s employees were revolting against the new owner, and demanding answers from current CEO Parag Agrawal about what will happen next:
Chief Executive Parag Agrawal sought to quell employee anger on Friday during a company-wide meeting where employees demanded answers to how managers planned to handle an anticipated mass exodus prompted by Elon Musk.
The meeting comes after Musk, the Tesla (TSLA.O) chief executive who sealed a $44 billion deal to buy the social media company, repeatedly criticized Twitter’s content moderation practices and a top executive responsible for setting speech and safety policies.
At the internal town hall meeting, which was heard by Reuters, executives said the company would monitor staff attrition daily, but it was too soon to tell how the buyout deal with Musk would affect staff retention.
“It would appear that news of Elon Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter — and his stated support of free speech — has not yet filtered down to those managing the day-to-day operations of the company,” CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network Michael Patrick Leahy said in a statement.
Twitter did not immediately return. comment request.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
I shared this article on twitter and my account was also locked down. I tried fighting stating I shared a news article about a law that was passed in Tn.
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WHY do Christian Conservatives continue to shun Andrew Torba and Gab, instead bowing to the communist/leftist platforms like Twitter who abuse us?
Musk does not own Twitter yet.
Correct. If he does take control, it won’t happen for approximately six months. That”s how look it takes to close a deal this size. Don’t blame a thing that’s happening on Twitter now on Musk.
You are being shared on MeWe as well. Sue Twitter, but don’t depend on them. There are other social media sites that will welcome you.
Is there a chance that some have suffered or died needlessly because they or their physicians were reluctant to use anti-Covid treatments because of what the left and social media were saying about the treatment?
Maybe The Tennessee Star should do what former New York Times Journalist Alex Berenson did when he was suspended from Twitter after saying COVID vaccines don’t stop infection or transmission. He sued Twitter. All of this is reported in a story appearing today (4-30-22) in The Gateway Pundit entitled, “Judge Rules Against Twitter in Case of Suspended Journalist ― “Next Comes Discovery.”
What Twitter is doing is illegal, in my opinion, and I think that it is ‘high time’ that someone ‘called’ them on it.
I agree fully John but add the abuses by Twitter might have reached the level where the company needs to be broken up like the telephone company of years ago was broken up by the Federal government. “Ma Bell” was considered an unsafe monopoly. Twitter, in suppressing selected speech has become an unsafe monopoly.
Come over to Truth Social. I’ve been linking Tennessee Star articles there for people to see via SteveAreno.
Truth Social is only for iPhones. I find that troubling that I can’t get it on my computer.