Twitter Suspends Another Conservative‘s Twitter Account After Alleged Leftest ’Spam’ Attack
- Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:05am by
Billy Hallowell
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Big Journalism Editor Dana Loesch
Questions are swirling surrounding the reasons Twitter suspended conservative Chris Loesch’s Twitter account (this is at least the second conservative account to be suspended this month). Loesch, a music producer and the husband of CNN contributor and Big Journalism Editor Dana Loesch, saw his account close down three times on Sunday.
The Washington Times has more:
He was apparently targeted by leftist users who utilized the “Block & Report Spam” function to trigger the social media account’s automatic spam algorithm. He was notified of his suspension via an email from Twitter claiming it was due to multiple unsolicited mentions to other users. “You will need to change your behavior to continue using Twitter,” the email admonished. [...]
Supporters initiated by fellow conservatives Ben Howe and Jerome Hudson began sending tweets with a “#FreeChrisLoesch” hashtag. Retweets soon had it trending as one of the top 10 messages being sent in the United States. A couple of hours later, his account was reinstated only to be mysteriously suspended again within an hour. So the campaign was renewed, this time asking Twitter to “#FreeChrisLoeschAgain”.
Obviously, Chris is claiming that he didn’t do anything wrong and that the attacks and the subsequent suspension were unwarranted. In an interview with The Washington Times, the conservative defended himself.
“I never threatened anyone and am careful about being concise with what I write especially in public,” he said. “They were going to make me sign this note that said one more infraction and I would be permanently banned. I wasn’t going to do that so I wrote emails to some of their people.”
Chris also said that be believes the campaign was kicked off by comments he made in support of his wife. As he stated, he was careful in the wording he used. Tweets following the suspensions seemed to show that some liberals who disagreed with his and his wife’s ideology made it a point to target his account.
In an article posted on Big Journalism, Dana responded to the controversy and explained her account of the events that led up to the suspensions:
Earlier this evening my husband, Chris Loesch, had his Twitter account suspended. There have been stories going around of conservatives getting suspended from Twitter over innocuous things while accounts like @KillZimmerman (an account which threatened to kill George Zimmerman) and other such accounts were left active for weeks. After a user remarked about me being raped and murdered, Chris and others defended me.
I’m used to it, it’s part of the territory of doing what I do, enduring hate like this daily. Unfortunately, some progressives disliked that Chris pushed back against it as well. His account was suspended, yet this individual’s account, and the account of those who say far worse to me and others, are left alone.
It is important to note that the suspensions may be entirely based on an algorithm, as the Times noted. Individuals posting horrific commentary, such as those messages sent to Dana, may not be getting reported by fellow users at the same rate that Chris was in the supposed organized leftist campaign against him. Since algorithms only count certain elements such as the frequency of times reported, the explanation may lay within that realm.
“We‘ve been speaking with someone who works at Twitter and is trying to help us and he’s been very helpful,” Dana told The Blaze in an e-mail interview. “Unfortunately so many on the left have targeted his account to repeatedly report it, it’s making it difficult. That’s apparently how much the left despises diverse thought…His account was suspended three times in a span of around 75 minutes.”
Needless to say, it seems Twitter may need to adjust the way it handles account suspensions, especially considering that innocent individuals simply exercising their free-speech rights hold the potential to be so easily targeted.
This story has been updated.
(H/T: Washington Times)
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Comments (92)
vorpal
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:31amsomewhere george soros is pulling the strings…
Report Post »why do you think murdoch is being attacked…the conspiracy grows…they will do anything…the end justifies the means.
ChildOfTheKing
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:35amWhy do all of you people even have accounts on Twitter or Facebook and other social sites, WHICH ARE LIBERAL BASED, JUST LIKE SNOPES IS (the same people who gave thousands of dollars to Obama????? DON’T ANY OF YOU PEOPLE DO YOUR HOMEWORK?????
Are you crazy or just a glutton for punishment? I don’t have ANY accounts on ANY liberal or otherwise, sites. I NEVER USE GOOGLE, I USE IXQUICK.com. I use UltraSurf to browse the Internet, AND other privacy software. I don’t belong to any groups. WHY? THEY OWN YOU IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, which means THEY CAN RESTRICT YOU IF THEY DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU.
Is that free speech? NO. THEN, WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE AN ACCOUNT WITH THEM? ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT? Oh, I see, it doesn’t affect you, so you don’t care? How about your fellow Americans? When will you come to THEIR AID?
I am so tired of hearing everyone complain about Twitter and Facebook. SHUT THEM DOWN. Cancel your accounts NOW and you WILL shut them down, if enough people do it. You are supporting them monetarily if you do not, which means if you give them your money (advertisers pay them everytime you use their site) they can continue to control you, give their money to liberal causes to further restrict our freedoms.
Sometimes I think the majority of Americans are dumber than a box of rocks.
Report Post »Hollywood
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 7:28pmGeorge Soros ,the Nazi collaboratot, self hating Jew, is but a brute beast destined for eternal destruction in the Lake of fire. From the looks of him that should be SOON! His accolytes who are doing this will be joining him.
Report Post »Brooke Lorren
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 2:53amChildoftheKing: I use Twitter because it helps me earn money.
Report Post »bdsconserv
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:35amyou betcha. i don’t twitter or go on facebook,but it would seem to me that conservatives should target a liberal and see if twitter reacts the same way,i.e.,shuts down the lib’s twitter account. only then will we know if we are dealing with a ‘fair’ entity.
Report Post »thetwilightzone
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:24amSame story it‘s only OK if I’m the one doing it
Report Post »groundzero
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:21amMake sure u point out to ANY leftist Their tolerance NO LONGER EXIST and was FAKE from the beginnning. As their tolerance is a ONE WAY street. Instead they are showing their TRUE self as being TOTAL CONTROL FREAKS and that controlling others BUT NOT themselves. It’s been this way for ALONG TIME in colleges and u need to write to ur Governor and DEMAND no funding if they can not have equal representation of Professors as to political view points. WRITE A NOTE TODAY!!!! They are ballying for our money to propaganda our kids – SPEAK UP NOW!!!!! WRITE TO GOVERNOR NOW. We can no longer allow of freedom of speech to be taken by these colleges.
Report Post »vorpal
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:34amprogressives are NOT liberal – they are the most intolerant mess ever ever
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:58amThe DICTATOR says SILENCE THEM.. so they do. We are walking down a very DANGEROUS road and I hope more people wake up soon. These people are true COMMUNISTS and they don’t even bother to HIDE it any longer.
Report Post »drattastic
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:33amNothing more refreshing than the “open minded” left. The second most tolerant people on the planet are quickly gaining ground on the most tolerant people on the planet, muslims.
Report Post »ChildOfTheKing
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:36amI suggest that if you have any of these accounts: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. THAT YOU CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT NOW. Send a clear message.
Report Post »American Mensch
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:20amWhat the Heck is Twitter?? I barely have time to look at the internet in the morning, so I am not up to the latest and greatest on the Web. Does anybody talk to each other face to face anymore?
Report Post »stogieguy7
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:32amThank you for demonstrating why we (conservatives) are losing the culture war.
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 2:50pmOne person doesn’t know what TWITTER is and we are, therefore, losing the so called “CULTURE WAR?” Every time Chris Loesch adds a new account, they atttack it as spam again. Who is FIGHTING in one sided this “WAR?” Only Progressives and it’s hard to win when you are not even in the fight?
Report Post »stogieguy7
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 4:34pmThe problem is that the liberals are being very successful at dominating the younger generations and there are far too many conservatives who make comments like “gee, what’s Twitter?“ and ”why can’t we all talk face to face?” Probably followed by calling them *whippersnappers*.
If we keep thinking like this, conservatism will lose out. Younger people are more attracted to an iPad than they are to a typewriter. If all we’re offering up are Smith Coronas, we’re screwed……
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:19amTurn about is fair play.
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:15amI NEVER go there.
Report Post »stogieguy7
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:13amThere’s nothing new about this sort of thing. My account was terminated from a popular (national) radio and media website because someone made spectacularly anti-conservative and anti-Fox news comments. I defended the position (twice) and received and email that my account would be terminated. Mind you, this was after TEN years on the site.
Meanwhile, the libs on that site can make inappropriate political comments to their hearts content with no fear of suspension. Yes, it’s a little (annoying) thing which seems unimportant in the grand scheme of my life. But it is also an ominous portent of what’s going on right now. And you see this sort of thing all over the place. There‘s a leftist revolution happening and they’re taking over without having fired a single shot.
Report Post »momsense
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:30amI had one like that about 6 months ago–it was about the results of taking $500,000,000,000 from Obozo care and, apparently, the libs didn’t like the idea that someone figured out that seniors were being targeted for de ath through rationing of care. Apparenlty Libs don’t like people who can see the forest and the trees.
Report Post »canadianlady
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:04amThese are the actions of the fascist left, who won’t stop until everyone thinks and acts just like them. This is a glimpse of the America under Barack Obama, if he’s given another term. I think all you twitter users should start targeting leftist twitter hash tags and spam twitter with reports. Let them taste the same fate. Two can play at that game.
Report Post »Mahakala
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:25amYep. Obama’s faschist brownshirts are on the march. Useful Idiots following their Dear Leaders lead. You can bet your last dollar that if the could they would not think twice about lining you up against a wall and machine gunning you down or rounding you up and send you to a camp. This is how vile the left has become since Barry the Organizer became Prez.
Report Post »Teabunny
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:02amI’ve been suspended. so much for free speech!
Report Post »MAX0O1
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:57amThis is the mild peak at the future if Her OBAMA is re-elected.
Report Post »grimmy
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:48amGetting someone banned in this way not only works on twitter but f/b and other social media outlets.Hell it even works on the Blaze, as i have had an account banned on here recently,with no explanation.It only takes one person, under numerous accts. such as the ones encinom has on here.This is the ***** in the armor that the left employs, to shut the right up, and has been going on, on forums since al gore invented the interweb. The so called algorithm is triggered by a preset number of identical “complaints” and its quite easy for one person to “trip” it.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:18amGRIMMY:
Report Post »I know what they blacked out!!!! I know what they blacked out!!!! The joke is on them!!! Good post!!!
LifeLetters
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 9:00amGrimmy, It’s not automatic to get someone banned or reinstated on FB. Rebecca Gomperts, the abortionist who runs Women on Waves abortion mill used her FB profile picture to pst instructions to do self-abortions by obtaining misoprostol illegally and taking it at home–not just illegal, but also incredibly dangerous for the woman. Dr. Gomperts complained and FB immediately reinstated the offensive instructions. I reported her to FB for illegal drug use to no avail. If FB likes someone or gets pressure from some famous liberal, their evil, pro-abortion agenda gets promoted. Algorithm or not, ultimately, managers are making conscious decisions to promote their favorite left-wing causes. If we don’t like it, we will have to start our own pro-life social media space.
Report Post »Epic Fail
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:45amThe left doesn’t believe in free speech. They believe in like speech, or left speech. So if you don’t fall in line with their beliefs, then they want to shut you down. It’s really sad.
Report Post »johnjamison
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:52amLooks like the market is ready for a conservative version of twitter…..Or at least an American version where free speach matter more than PC.
Report Post »BreeZee
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:59amyeppers, just more speech police from the progressive left trying to restrict the right from exposing their hypocracy.
**If you vote for barry, you are to blame and a socialist**
Report Post »LameLiberals
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:45amTwitter knows who hit the REPORT button. They should suspend accounts of those targeting others.
Report Post »HuskerDave
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:00amI was thinking the same thing. Serial ‘spam reporters’ need to be banned.
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:41amThis “game” is played on other sites as well… not just twitter. It‘s a kid’s game mostly and doesn’t just limit itself to the Obama type liberal “left.” I have many friends and acquaintances (Active, former and Retired Military) who have been banned by sites like Facebook and Classmates.com by repeated spam and complaint gang-ups by that left and the Ron Paul left who can’t handle the fact that there are many who dare speak out against their personal saviors.
Report Post »ENDtheFED2012
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:46amDon’t give up on Dr. Ron Paul yet.
Ron Paul just won the States of Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, Alaska, Massachusetts, Louisiana and picked up 200 new delegates. So now Pauls Delegate count as of 4/30/10 is 391 + 200 = [ 591 ].
There are still 14 more state GOP primaries to go with most of them being Ron Paul states like TX, Cali., WV, NC, KT, etc.
The REAL Delegate counts… as of 4/10/12
Romney= 601
Paul= 391
Santorum= 197
Gingrich= 77
When Santorum officially drops out of the race the delegate count will look like this…
Romney= 661
Paul=518
Gingrich= 87
In 1920 Harding went to the GOP convention with the lest amount of delegates and walked out with the GOP nomination.
Report Post »Dr. Ron Paul is in it to win it.
justangry
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:48amDid you know your post that I resonded to last night was deleted by the Blaze?
Report Post »ENDtheFED2012
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:49amDon’t give up on Dr. Ron Paul yet.
Ron Paul just won the States of Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, Alaska, Massachusetts, Louisiana and picked up 200 new delegates. So now Pauls Delegate count as of 4/30/10 is 391 + 200 = [ 591 ].
There are still 14 more state GOP primaries to go with most of them being Ron Paul states like TX, Cali., WV, NC, KT, etc.
The REAL Delegate counts… as of 4/10/12
Romney= 601
Paul= 391
Santorum= 197
Gingrich= 77
When Santorum officially drops out of the race the delegate count will look like this…
Romney= 661
Paul=518
Gingrich= 87
In 1920 Harding went to the GOP convention with the lest amount of delegates and walked out with the GOP nomination.
Report Post »Dr. Ron Paul is in it to win it. And he has as of 4/30/12 … 591 delegates
LameLiberals
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:52amGo Ron Paul. I am retired miltiary and voted for him for the first time in my life.
I would rather have Ron Paul who will END THE FED – dismantle the Dept of Education, Nixon’s Dept of EPA, Carter’s Dept of Education and put us back on the Gold Standard that Nixon took us off and STOP giving money to the IMF and UN.
While I will RELUCTANTLY VOTE for Shxty Mitty who is a PROGRESSIVE RINO at best – I will vomit while I do it and only do so because he is few rings up the progressive cesspool than Obama.
GO RON PAUL
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:03amJUST. I saw that. Hmmmm? Couldn’t be a whiney Paul supporter could it? Nawww, ‘course not, lol.
LAME. Yes please… Go Ron Paul… and give your support to the eventual GOP nominee. Or just Go.
ENDtheFED2012
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:19am@ JUSTANGRY
Report Post »I know.
They moved the comment board pages around so it was the 2nd page in and deleted the post about Romney. If you do a little research you’ll find out that the Blaze and the Huffington Post are ran by the same people.<~ It makes you wonder what the true agenda is here.
You should re-post that post about George Soros and the Spanish Vote Counting Company.
Make sure as many people know about it as you can. Something HAS to be done about it.
Thanks.
justangry
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:55amLMAO see?
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:45amJUST. Yep, your comment… and my follow-up. Hmmmm. I guess someone didn’t take kindly to your challenge? Lol.
Report Post »justangry
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 1:41pmI don’t know man. Hard to believe someone would complain about me talking about the different views of constitutionalism the Supreme Court Justices held. I also know West Coast was censored to all heck talking about Ron Paul’s mission statement where he says Jesus guides all of his decisions in life. Seems like some Goebbels crap to me. Nah… the truth lives here.
Report Post »THXll38
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:35amTwitter can delete any account that they want. I am against censorship, but private and public organizations can make algorithms and policies based on the culture of the organization.
Report Post »amerbur
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 4:13pmThey can do anything they wish, and that is fine as long as the market is competative and free. If customers do not like it they can get the service elsewhere. Is this a free market or is it a monopoly – which by the way is illegal.
Report Post »Jennifer Flowers
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:35amhttp://facebook.com/JenniferFlowersLibertarian
Report Post »justangry
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:25amLooks like you got a little neocon in you tbh.
Report Post »WVfishguy
Posted on May 1, 2012 at 6:51pmHoly Cow! What a great Facebook page!
Report Post »Can I be your friend?
Watcher1952
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:31amTwitter….Google…..Yahoo….all left wing leaning……they will take your freedom of speech away everytime they can. This bunch is no better than NBC<ABC<CBSCNN>Media Matters….the media in America now is helping to turn people toward the Socialist/Marxist way…..WAKE UP AMERICA…..
Report Post »THXll38
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:38amI’ll be damned. There are no conservative sites that delete accounts?
Report Post »RANGER1965
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:25amHmmm…thats a rather effective tactic.
I can almost admire it. So you group up about 500 individuals and you use the report spam, or report commentary feature on a particular person you don’t like. You do it on a weekend, or after hours; and software red flags the account, and it gets suspended.
Eventually an investigation is done a day or so later, on some sites, it might take a week.
The target is frustrated, and can’t communicate.
After the investigation is done, wait 48 hours and hit him/her again. Cyber terrorism refined!
After a few months you will end up silencing 90% of your targets. Most will likely give up in pure frustration.
Accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Various News sites, and major blogs all would be vulnerable to this tactic. The damage to conservatives who are less likely to fight back, and who are less in love with social media, would be devastating.
The Long Night is Coming
RANGER
Elegant, Anonomous, Legal, and Effective.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:30amI actually believe that this is happening here on the Blaze. Too many posts are being deleted when they are not breaking any posting rules.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:24amI’m not surprised. People on Twitter often spout the most unthinkable things, but it would stand to reason that the accounts that are shut down belong to conservatives.
I wonder if Twitter realizes that it is acquiring a really bad reputation due to the users and actions like this.
I don’t have a Twitter account, never did and don’t foresee myself getting one in the future. Too much mindless chatter.
Report Post »skiz
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:23amTwitter is for twits!
Report Post »TheEDGE
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:40amEven the folks who swear by twitter and Facebook know how phony and narcissistic these social networks are. If you want the PC, squeaky clean version of a person’s thoughts you go to twitter. If you want to see who someone’s banging, or where they went on their latest vacation, or what their latest material “fix” is, you check Facebook. For what it’s worth, I’ve never been a twit, and dropped my Facebook account a couple months after my son was born. Becoming a father at 34 years old instantly made everyone else’s phony crap seem so trivial, even laughable. Besides, I like hearing what people really think. Even if they are strangers I’ll never meet. Thanks Blaze!
Report Post »Jennifer Flowers
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:21amI don’t know if Twitter is leftist or not, but that’s how these social sites work….. The algorithm suspends the account, sends an email….. Then a real human comes in to see if the algorithm made the correct decision… If not, the account is reactivated.
Report Post »CS_GUY
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:20amTwitter is for “Twits”……….period.
Report Post »TheEDGE
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 10:57amIs there anything in “the mainstream” that isn’t for twits?
Report Post »jfc1068
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:19amI would respond by saying this level of hatred towards ALL people has to stop, but apparently some think I am being sanctimonious When I do that.
Report Post »doomytram
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:17amWhere is the Civility Leftist ?? Go eat Sand, Dog, whatever. How anyone with anything resembling a functioning brain could be a leftist is beyond me.
Leftist are Communist Entitlements Hogs. And that is an insult to the Hog
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:30amyes their civility is gone as well as the moderate rational democrat. they are all hardcore leftists now out to silence anyone who disagrees with them and spend their 99 weeks of unemployment harassing other via blogs twitter etc. it really is pathetic.
Report Post »The Goo
Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:16amCurious and spooky! Do you think Twitter’s algorithm is left-leaning? I suspect it might be…
Report Post »