#AreWeNext: Twitter Faces Backlash After It Bans Focus on the Family-Owned Account
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2021
#AreWeNext: Twitter Faces Backlash After It Bans Focus on the Family-Owned Account
It’s one in a series of Twitter bans – and national and state leaders are firing back
Twitter, USA – Twitter jail is getting full, and the latest detainee is an account owned by major national ministry Focus on the Family. The group’s news outlet, The Daily Citizen, was recently banned from Twitter after a tweet about Biden’s Assistant Health Secretary pick, Dr. Rachel Levine. The tweet described Levine as “a transgender woman, that is, a man who believes he is a woman.”
When The Daily Citizen attempted to seek clarification on what they could say that would restore their account, they were not given an answer, but instead a choice to delete the tweet or continue having their account blocked.
In response, allies of Focus on the Family are firing back. National ministry Family Policy Alliance, a public policy partner of Focus on the Family, yesterday tweeted:
Craig DeRoche, President and CEO of Family Policy Alliance, said of the tweet, “Censorship of the truth is something none of us should experience – and yet, it’s something that conservatives have grown increasingly familiar with. When it happened to a close ally like Focus on the Family, we knew we couldn’t stay silent. People want the truth, and Twitter needs to know that.”
At the time of writing, yesterday’s tweet from Family Policy Alliance has been shared by many including five members of Congress (Rep. Jim Banks, Rep. Ted Budd, Rep. Rich Hudson, Rep. Ralph Norman, and Rep. Jodey Arrington), the Republican Study Committee, leading national organizations (Concerned Women for America, the American Principles Project, Family Research Council, the Centennial Institute, and the Women’s Liberation Front, among others), thought leaders including John Stonestreet and former Trump counsel Jenna Ellis, and state Family Policy Council organizations from around the country.
Their common question: “Are we next?”
The question is well-founded, as this isn’t the first time Twitter has taken such actions. In fact, explaining that Dr. Levine is a biological male who believes he’s a woman seems to be of particular concern to the tech giant. In the last two weeks, multiple conservative organizations and news outlets have reported being blocked over similar factual content about Levine. Known accounts that were blocked (fully or in part) include pro-life news source LifeSiteNews, Christian writer Michael L. Brown, Catholic news source Catholic World Report, and pro-family organization Minnesota Minnesota Family Council Council
Family Policy Alliance has called upon the public to contact Twitter through a petition that asks the company, “If you are going to ban [The Daily Citizen], are you going to ban millions of others like me who believe that biology is reality—and that freedom of speech matters in America?”
Within only two hours of posting, the petition had already garnered around 3,000 signatures.
“We’re grateful for the support of so many tremendous friends and allies who share our deeply held convictions about our God-given first freedoms,” said Paul Batura, Focus on the Family’s Vice President of Communications and editor-in-chief of The Daily Citizen. “Social media gatekeepers can try to silence and censor, but the truth will always eventually and inevitably come out.”
Many of the same leaders who led the Twitter campaign plan to send an open letter to the company detailing their concerns.
Organizations and individuals who have experienced similar censorship over biological sex are encouraged to share their stories with Family Policy Alliance. Family Policy Alliance asks that all who are concerned consider signing their petition.
Media Contact:
Robert Noland, (719) 308-2822, Media@FamilyPolicyAlliance.com
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Family Policy Alliance advances biblical citizenship and promote good public policy that protects religious freedom, families, and life.