BANNED: Twitter Suspends Mike Baron’s ‘Private American’ Account

Paul Hair |

Oct 18, 2022

Source: 'Private American' (2022). Excerpt of cover art by Steve Rude.

In a highly unsurprising move, Twitter has banned the account for Mike Baron’s Private American graphic novel, which is in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign. It’s the latest example of Big Tech’s hostility to anyone who runs afoul of the far-left ruling class.

Bounding into Comics conducted an interview with Baron about Private American on Oct. 5. At the time, he and his team had already smashed through their initial crowdfunding goal and were working on unlocking stretch goals.

However, an Oct. 13 press release from the creative team announced that “[b]arely two weeks into the crowdfunding campaign for the graphic novel, which examines the dangers at the open U.S. southern border, Twitter abruptly suspended the book’s account without explanation.” So the ban very well could affect the final tally for the project.

As to why the account was banned, Twitter informed the team that it had violated “the Twitter TOS, specifically the rules against managing multiple accounts for abusive purposes.” Chris Braly, the campaign manager, appealed the ban but Twitter didn’t budge on its decision.

Specifically, Braly provided to Twitter “evidence there was no abusive content on any of the company’s accounts, or his personal account, which he showed were all still active.” But “Twitter declined to offer any further details, leading Baron’s team to conclude that the suspension stems from the unfinished comic’s politically charged subject matter: the dangers of illegal immigration.”

In addition to the Big Tech ban being unsurprising, it’s also nothing new for Baron. For instance, Facebook gave him trouble with his Thin Blue Line graphic novel.

According to the Oct. 13 press release, the Big Tech company initially kept his team from placing ads for the graphic novel. But that changed once Fox News reported on it.

Baron also ran afoul of Big Tech with his Florida Man graphic novel. The press release noted that despite the story being a comedy that’s free of politics, Reddit moderators banned any mention of it from a comics subreddit.

“Ten years ago, this book wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow,” Baron said with regards to Private American. “But in today’s hyper-politicized climate, with a press that won’t do its job, the simple act of stating the obvious truth that borders are necessary is considered forbidden speech.”

Nevertheless, Baron is taking it all in stride. “Most people have their hands full doing their job, taking care of their family, and maybe watching a little football on the weekends. But there’s a certain class of person who spends every second scheming how to gain power over others and shut down any dissent.”

Right now, there are a few days left until the end of the Indiegogo campaign for Private American. So there’s still some time to contribute and spread the word about it, even as Big Tech and the far-left ruling class would rather that you didn’t.