Twitter's 'Site Integrity' Chief Shows Long History of Anti-Republican Bias
As Twitter courts controversy by taking measures to issue fact-check claims against President Donald Trump, old comments made by one of the social media giant’s executives show a clear pattern of anti-conservative bias.
Twitter executive Yoel Roth recently outlined the site’s new policy toward fact-checking and censoring some information.
“In serving the public conversation, our goal is to make it easy to find credible information on Twitter and to limit the spread of potentially harmful and misleading content,” reads a blog post published on May 11 and co-authored by Roth, whose official job title is “Head of Site Integrity.”
“Starting today, we’re introducing new labels and warning messages that will provide additional context and information on some Tweets containing disputed or misleading information related to COVID-19,” the post added.
On Tuesday, Twitter used its fact-check label to flag a pair of posts made by President Donald Trump about the potential for fraud with regard to mail-in voting.
Twitter utilized reporting from CNN and The Washington Post, two outlets which themselves are often accused of false reporting about the president, to question Trump’s warning about vote-by-mail fraud.
….living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
But Roth has a history of posting disparaging comments about conservatives and Trump.
“I’m just saying, we fly over those states that voted for a racist tangerine for a reason,” Roth wrote following Trump’s 2016 election.
I’m just saying, we fly over those states that voted for a racist tangerine for a reason.
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) November 9, 2016
In January 2017, Roth posted: “‘Today on Meet The Press, we’re speaking with Joseph Goebbels about the first 100 days…’ –What I hear whenever Kellyanne is on a news show.”
“Today on Meet The Press, we’re speaking with Joseph Goebbels about the first 100 days…” —What I hear whenever Kellyanne is on a news show
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) January 22, 2017
Other tweets by Roth show a clear anti-conservative sentiment, including one post where he claimed there are “ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.”
How does a personality-free bag of farts like Mitch McConnell actually win elections?
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) July 28, 2017
Yes, that person in the pink hat is clearly a bigger threat to your brand of feminism than ACTUAL NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) January 22, 2017
“Every time a cute boy uses an Android phone, I die inside” is the new “Every time a cute boy tells me he’s a Republican, I die inside.”
— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) December 3, 2011
A Twitter spokesperson told Business Insider that “Roth is part of the team overseen by VP for trust and safety Del Harvey that recommends whether to label tweets that contain misinformation, but added that the decision to label tweets is ultimately made by ‘leadership’ following recommendations from the trust and safety team.”
The Washington Examiner reported that a Twitter spokesperson “did not deny that Roth played a part in the decision to add a label to Trump’s tweets,” though the spokesperson said “it’s unfortunate to see individual employees targeted for company decisions.”
Roth’s previous comments were unearthed as Trump and others accused Twitter of using so-called “fact-checks” as a way to censor the platform’s conservative users.
Trump, responding to the site’s fact-check warning on his tweets, threatened to regulate or shut down companies that censor conservative dissent.
Trump accused Twitter on Tuesday of “interfering in the 2020 Presidential Election.”
….Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as President, will not allow it to happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
He further said social media platforms are attempting to “silence conservatives voices.”
….happen again. Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020
“We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016,” he added Wednesday.
“We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that … happen again. Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!”
Later Wednesday, Trump again warned of action to come against Twitter censorship.
“Twitter has now shown that everything we have been saying about them (and their other compatriots) is correct,” he tweeted.
Twitter has now shown that everything we have been saying about them (and their other compatriots) is correct. Big action to follow!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020
“Big action to follow!” Trump vowed.
UPDATE, May 28, 2020: This article has been updated to include additional information on Yoel Roth’s role at Twitter.
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