Our good friend Jessica Hockett (aka @ewoodhouse7 on Twitter) has been a fixture with Team Reality nearly since our inception. We interviewed her some weeks ago and then again when Twitter first suspended her account. Things seemed to be doing well as she appealed her ruling and the boom! - yesterday she was booted again.
We’re cross-posting her explanation of the situation. You can find the original post here on her Substack.
I was permanently suspended from Twitter this afternoon, after posting this tweet.1
But this was not the tweet that locked my account.
It was this one, posted yesterday, directly quoting Allysia Finley of the The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board.
Ms. Finley’s July 4th op-ed/commentary is justifiably critical of emergency approval for the age 0-4 covid vaccine. Here’s the part I quoted:
Ms. Finley has not been active on Twitter since February, but two WSJ accounts posted her article yesterday too, without being censored. My quote is different from theirs, but the message equally damning of Biden Administration agencies, professional organizations, experts, and practitioners who have pushed for a speedy EUA.
My friend Jennifer Sey also posted the article, excerpting what some might still consider controversial claims, but was not accused of breaking Twitter’s rules.
The locking of my account over the tweet triggered a simultaneous “permanent suspension” - my second one since May. I have not yet submitted an appeal.
Who or what do I think is responsible for this sloppy attempt at censorship?
I don’t know, but in this instance, Twitter’s Covid-19 Misleading Information Policy - and enforcement thereof - has clearly led to suppression of free speech and free press.
Again.
UPDATE 7/7/22: I submitted an appeal this morning. It read, My account was locked - and simultaneously suspended - for a tweet that directly quoted a Wall Street Journal article. Neither the content of the quote nor the article itself is in violation of Twitter's policies. Censoring the tweet is censoring The Wall Street Journal. Please acknowledge your error and restore my account. Thank you.
The data in this tweet comes from a dashboard that imports directly from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Censorship is about caste, not content. Correct Persons are Correct whether their text is right or wrong. Incorrect Persons are Incorrect even when they quote a Correct Person. Everything that comes from the mouth or keyboard of a Heretic is Heresy.
I don't know if Berenson's argument here is of any use to Jessica. https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/why-the-berenson-v-twitter-settlement