So, I woke up to this. Hate is organized in America. & yes, I take this as a serious threat. pic.twitter.com/V0zThcJJs6
— deray (@deray) May 24, 2015
If the Internet seems like a slightly happier place today, it’s probably because one of its biggest troublemakers has been put on permanent notice by one social media site. Chuck C. Johnson, a so-called “conservative blogger” who spends a great deal of his valuable time harassing and doxxing people while providing vile racist, homophobic, and misogynistic “commentary” that would make even the Fox News team blush, has been permanently banned from Twitter.
The last straw was the tweet from activist DeRay McKesson that you see above. So in case you were wondering if holding an online fundraiser to “take out” a civil rights activist was covered under the First Amendment, I think you have your answer.
(Side note: The First Amendment actually has nothing to do with speech and private entities such as Twitter; it refers to the federal government’s ability to infringe on speech and expression. So while Twitter has been way too lenient when it comes to acting on trolls like this guy, you cannot say anything you want on Twitter.)
Anyway!
This is the fourth time Johnson has been banned by Twitter because he uses his account to do things like brag about how he actively stalks his targets, posit that President Obama is gay, and outs the wrong rape victims. Johnson refers to this kind of tripe as “journalism,” but most would generally not consider this kind of activity to be very groundbreaking nor is it really “contributing to the conversation.”
Obviously, we have not heard the last of Chuck C. Johnson and his lawyers have already started legal action against Twitter, but as far as his Twitter activity goes, he’s on permanent notice, no matter how many fake accounts he makes. One obnoxious, unproductive voice is gone for a little while. We can breathe a little easier. For now.
Source: The Washington Post