Twitter owner Elon Musk recently responded to a lengthy report that Twitter scrapped a deal with The Daily Wire for Matt Walsh’s What is a Woman? film due to “misgendering.”
Jeremy Boreing, the co-founder and co-CEO of The Daily Wire, took to Twitter to detail that Twitter cancelled a deal to premiere the film on their platform because of two instances of “misgendering.”
He wrote, “Twitter canceled a deal with The Daily Wire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of ‘misgendering.’ I’m not kidding.”
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Boreing then went on a thread explaining what the deal was and why it was cancelled.
First, he explained that they planned to release the film for free on Twitter for the first 24 hours believing that “Twitter’s recent commitments to free speech” would make it “the perfect place to distribute the film and drive the conversation forward on one of the most important topics of our day.”
Next, he detailed that Twitter “offered us the opportunity to buy a package to host the movie on a dedicated event page and to promote the event to every Twitter user over the first 10 hours.”
Boreing detailed, “We accepted and signed an agreement. After we signed, Twitter asked to see the film to better understand what parts may “trigger” users, so they could better prepare their response. They said they were still all hands on deck for launch, so we sent them a screener.”
However, after viewing the film, Boreing explained that “Twitter let us know that not only could we no longer purchase the package they offered, they would no longer provide us any support and would actually limit the reach of the film and label it as ‘hateful conduct’ because of ‘misgendering.'”
Boreing then detailed what Twitter specifically took issue with, “Specifically: In the film, a father refers to his 14-year-old daughter as ‘her,’ and a store owner uses the ‘wrong’ pronoun in a confrontation with a trans person.”
Interestingly, Boreing then detailed that Twitter defended their decision in regards to the movie because while they “removed ‘misgendering’ from their policy … they still consider ‘misgendering’ abuse and harassment.”
According to Boreing, Twitter requested the film be edited to comply with their standards to which The Daily Wire declined.
As for the kind of suppression Twitter planned to inflict on the film if it was posted to The Daily Wire’s Twitter account, Boreing relayed that Twitter “would limit the visibility if we posted the film anyway, Twitter replied that our own followers would not be able to see it in their feeds. This, they said, is part of their ‘speech not reach’ policy.”
He described this action as “saying ‘you have the right to cast a vote, but we’ll make sure it isn’t counted.”
Boreing then slammed Twitter and Elon Musk writing, “The other tech platforms have already decided where they stand in the trans debate and demonetize and deprioritize all those who disagree. Now, Twitter has joined the ranks of the other tech superpowers in ensuring one side of the debate is suppressed.”
To Elon Musk, he tweeted, “Elon Musk is not beholden to conservatives. He has the right to run his business as he sees fit. But if Twitter is going to throttle one side of one of the most important debates facing society, it cannot claim to champion free speech.”
He added, “I hope Elon Musk will reconsider this awful policy. If we can’t debate these issues on Twitter, where can we debate them? If conservatives aren’t welcome on Twitter, where are they welcome? It’s unlikely another centibillionaire will come along to offer an alternative.”
Finally, Boreing concluded his thread writing, “We plan to post the movie anyway tonight at 8:00 pm eastern. Will Twitter make good on their threat to throttle it and label it “hateful conduct,” or will Twitter live up to its great promise? We’ll all find out together.”
Musk responded to Boreing’s thread writing, “This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed. Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.”
He added, “I should note that I do personally use someone’s preferred pronouns, just as I use someone’s preferred name, simply from the standpoint of good manners. However, for the same reason, I object to rude behavior, ostracism or threats of violence if the wrong pronoun or name is used.”
Musk’s explanation of good manners for using preferred pronouns or preferred name is “a misguided charity and false compassion.”
Bishop Michael Burbidge explains in his letter A Catechesis on the Human Person and Gender Ideology, ” he claim to ‘be transgender’ or the desire to seek ‘transition’ rests on a mistaken view of the human person, rejects the body as a gift from God, and leads to grave harm. To affirm someone in an identity at odds with biological sex or to affirm a person’s desired ‘transition’ is to mislead that person. It involves speaking and interacting with that person in an untruthful manner. Although the law of gradualness might prompt us to discern the best time to communicate the fullness of the truth, in no circumstances can we confirm a person in error.”
Bishop Burbidge further advises, “The faithful should avoid using ‘gender-affirming’ terms or pronouns that convey approval of or reinforce the person’s rejection of the truth. It is not harsh or judgmental to decline to use such language.
“In the broader culture, Catholics may experience significant pressure to adopt culturally-approved terminology,” he continues. “However, in no circumstances should anyone be compelled to use language contrary to the truth. The right to speak the truth inheres in the human person and cannot be taken away by any human institution.”
Attempts by the state, corporations, or employers to compel such language, particularly by threats of legal action or job loss, are unjust. We must love in the truth, and truth must be accurately conveyed by our words. At the same time, clarity must always be at the service of charity, as part of a broader desire to move people towards the fulness of the truth,” Bishop Burbidge professes.
Despite, Musk’s response it’s unclear if Twitter is actually adhering to it. Boreing responded to Musk writing, “I appreciate the reply. We posted the two clips flagged by Twitter and they were indeed labeled “hateful conduct” and the share functions were disabled on the posts.”
He added, “We are trying to reach your team to determine what this means for those posts, whether or not our event tonight will be allowed to proceed unencumbered, and whether or not we will be allowed to purchase the live event page and reach block as originally agreed.”
“I appreciate your view of polite behavior, but our business is to debate public policy and philosophy. As such, we have an obligation to speak in ways consistent with our position. Our hope is that Twitter remains a place where we are free to do so,” Boreing concluded.
What do you make of Musk’s response?
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