As WLT reported earlier today, Twitter has a new man in charge.
CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down from his position and issued this statement.
not sure anyone has heard but,
I resigned from Twitter pic.twitter.com/G5tUkSSxkl
— jack (@jack) November 29, 2021
We noted earlier how his surprise departure led to fears of increased Twitter censorship:
Twitter’s stock was up roughly 10% on the news, but some fear that this may lead to more censorship in the future.
We currently don’t know why he is reportedly stepping down, as the announcement has come as somewhat of a surprise for many investors and users of the platform alike.
We learned shortly after Dorsey’s announcement that his replacement is former CTO Parag Agrawal.
Deep gratitude for @jack and our entire team, and so much excitement for the future. Here’s the note I sent to the company. Thank you all for your trust and support 💙 https://t.co/eNatG1dqH6 pic.twitter.com/liJmTbpYs1
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) November 29, 2021
Agrawal’s previous statements about free speech won’t ease censorship fears for conservatives.
Conservatives should probably be careful before celebrating the fact that Twitter has a new CEO based on past comments. https://t.co/o6MOu9vfua #Opinion #Technology #CEO #JackDorsey #ParagAgrawal
— The Liberty Loft (@thelibertyloft) November 30, 2021
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1465351179538509826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1465351179538509826%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnoqreport.com%2F2021%2F11%2F29%2Fheres-what-twitters-new-ceo-said-about-the-1st-amendment-last-year%2F
Parag Agrawal is now the CEO of Twitter.
The guy who said "Our role is not to be bound by the First Amendment… focus[ing] less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed." pic.twitter.com/eNpVfCtkEr
— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) November 29, 2021
Incoming Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal: "The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed." https://t.co/9CdMNxH43r pic.twitter.com/cjTsO4GQj0
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 29, 2021
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Jack Hadfield of National File reported what other skeletons reside in Agrawal’s closet:
New Twitter CEO @paraga not only follows a Soros-funded anti-free speech organisation, but also has liked tweets that compare conservatives to ISIS, suggest people give money to BLM rioters, and liken COVID arguments to a "religious war"@NationalFile https://t.co/7sjETNUi5c
— Jack Hadfield 🇬🇧 (@JackHadders) November 29, 2021
I see a lot of conservatives celebrating Jack Dorsey stepping down from Twitter.
His replacement, Parag Agrawal, is a far-left extremist who embraces Critical Race Theory and has aggressively spoken against the 1st Amendment.
This is not a time to celebrate.
— JD Rucker (@JDRucker) November 29, 2021
New Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal makes Dorsey look like a moderate.
Agrawal is left of Lenin.
We’re all on borrowed time.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) November 29, 2021
As reported in National File:
However, skeletons have already jumped out of Agrawal’s closet. In an interview from November 2020 with Technology Review, Agrawal, in his position as Twitter’s CTO, said in response to a question about combatting misinformation, that Twitter should not be “bound by the First Amendment,” and “focus less” on free speech:
Our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation. The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed. One of the changes today that we see is speech is easy on the internet. Most people can speak. Where our role is particularly emphasized is who can be heard.
The scarce commodity today is attention. There’s a lot of content out there. A lot of tweets out there, not all of it gets attention, some subset of it gets attention. And so increasingly our role is moving towards how we recommend content and that sort of, is, is, a struggle that we’re working through in terms of how we make sure these recommendation systems that we’re building, how we direct people’s attention is leading to a healthy public conversation that is most participatory.
After Twitter users dug into Agrawal’s past tweets, nastier skeletons fell out of the closet.
In an October 2010 tweet, the new Twitter CEO stated “If they are not gonna make a distinction between muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists.”
"If they are not gonna make a distinction between muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists."
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) October 26, 2010
Without clarification of the quote’s source, it’s inferred that Agrawal believes in the divisive statement.
As Daily Mail noted, the tweet allegedly quotes comedian Aasif Mandvi:
The tweet was apparently quoting comedian Aasif Mandvi, who had appeared in an episode of The Daily Show in a segment pitting black people against Muslim people, playing on the irrational fear of the two minorities.
The tweet has sparked fury with many questioning Agrawal’s impartiality and how he will decide who gets banned and who can tweet freely.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, shared the tweet and wrote: ‘This is Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s new CEO and the person who’s going to be deciding what kind of speech is allowed on Twitter.’
Mia Cathell, a news editor for the Post Millennial, joked that he apparently does not know how to scrub his tweets.
In additional evidence of his political bias, Agrawal donated to the ACLU to sue President Trump.
More evidence of the incoming Twitter CEO's political bias. Parag Agrawal donated to the ACLU so it could sue the former president. pic.twitter.com/6wldBTMA8O
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 29, 2021
Is Agrawal’s solution to combat bigotry against one group to commit bigotry against another group?
National File contacted Twitter, but they’ve yet to give a response.
Until then, conservatives should hold their cheers that Dorsey stepped away as CEO.
It’s not a time to celebrate.
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