Video: Twitter Even Ignores User Commands, Suppresses 'Unplanned' Anti-Abortion Film
When the anti-abortion film “Unplanned” had its Twitter account deleted briefly over the weekend, I figured its restoration would have been the end of the problems.
The so-called “error” had already drawn enough negative attention to Twitter — which, to be blunt, doesn’t need it and, one would have thought, would have avoided unpleasantness like this in the future.
As it turns out, not so much. A second Twitter controversy involving the film — which tells the story of a Planned Parenthood director who ended up leaving the organization after witnessing an abortion — erupted shortly after the account was reinstated.
According to those in charge of the account, Twitter has excised a fair chunk of its followers and refused to let them re-follow the movie’s account.
This was the first report from the people over at “Unplanned” and the movie’s Twitter account:
Getting alot of these types of reports… #Unplannedreactionhttps://t.co/KgMJ8mdpVK https://t.co/yubZQ3Evn1
— UnplannedMovie (@UnplannedMovie) April 1, 2019
The proprietors of the account suddenly noticed a huge drop in subscribers:
Hey @Twitter, where did 50K followers of #unplannedmovie go?
The inbox is stacking up with messages saying we unfollowed each other.#Unplanned,@STEPHMHAMILL
,@Crux41507251
,@ThomasForCAL pic.twitter.com/hYzsGc0Nn5— UnplannedMovie (@UnplannedMovie) April 1, 2019
People are once again experiencing @Twitter shenanigans…
We finally got a response as to our suspension.#Unplanned#Unplanned reactionhttps://t.co/KgMJ8mdpVK pic.twitter.com/jFAqf3xMRM— UnplannedMovie (@UnplannedMovie) April 1, 2019
And then came reports from various users — including pro-life actress Patricia Heaton — that they couldn’t follow the movie’s account.
Hey @jack – why aren’t you letting me follow @UnplannedMovie ? I’ve tried eight times to support my friend @AbbyJohnson and @Twitter won’t let me. Others are having the same issue. Please correct this. Thank you.
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) April 1, 2019
What is going on with the @UnplannedMovie account @TwitterSupport???
I WAS following @UnplannedMovie and just saw that I wasn’t anymore. So I went to refollow and this keeps happening!
Why won’t you let me follow this account @Twitter? pic.twitter.com/xBUsT4IeLd
— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@hollandcourtney) April 1, 2019
And here’s a video of the problem. Note how the user’s “follow” commands are clearly not being followed. (Also, mute the sound or ignore the background dialogue, it’s not related to the topic.)
Here is MORE PROOF that @Twitter is not allowing users to follow @UnplannedMovie … Check this out! Video Proof! Hat Tip A&G pic.twitter.com/00RunDX4NB
— Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) April 1, 2019
The “Unplanned” account eventually noted that the Twitter count came back, although users were still reporting problems following it.
Who else is watching Twitter like a hawk?
Thanks to all of you who noticed Twitter pitching them off our follower list! It looks like we’re back to normal – and up to almost 200k!
#UnPlanned @benshapiro @LilaGraceRose @StudentsforLife— UnplannedMovie (@UnplannedMovie) April 1, 2019
In response to the suspension, Twitter had said that the movie’s account was linked to another account that was taken down for a violation of the terms of service.
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The company claimed that its tools take down all accounts linked to suspended accounts, which included that of “Unplanned.” On a second look, the company reinstated the account for “Unplanned.”
As for what happened this time, we still haven’t gotten any sort of explanation. For all we know, it could have been a bug. As of mid-morning Eastern Time on Monday, I could follow the page without it unfollowing it for me. Heaton also noted the problem had been fixed.
However, the movie’s account did note a bit of an incongruity in how it was being treated by Twitter.
If #abortion and Planned Parenthood are good for women, why is @Twitter censoring #whatabbysaw?#unplanned reaction: pic.twitter.com/e7LrCju0DP
— UnplannedMovie (@UnplannedMovie) April 1, 2019
It’s an interesting question after a curious weekend for the movie’s producers.
But also a good one — the film overperformed at the box office with a $6.1 million opening.
Sometimes the best revenge is living — or pulling — well.
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