MRC Lashes Out At Twitter/X CEO For Actually Doing Something About Hate And Lies

The Media Research Center has not been a fan of Twitter/X CEO Linda Yaccarino, largely she’s not an Elon Musk clone and not as far-right as it hoped she would be — and, even worse, understands why lies and misinformation (which the MRC wants you to believe is “censorship”) should be moderated. Catherine Salgado had a meltdown over that last point in a Jan. 24 post:

X CEO Linda Yaccarino pretends to be pro-free speech, but in a new blog post she openly justifies censorship.

Linda Yaccarino was brought from leftist NBCUniversal and the anti-free speech World Economic Forum (WEF) by Elon Musk to be CEO of X (formerly Twitter). In a Jan. 22 blog post, Yaccarino claimed “hate speech” is not free speech, but without defining “hate speech.” Leftists often apply the term to anything with which they disagree. Furthermore, Yaccarino proudly announced that X had censored millions of pieces of content. How does this post fit with Musk’s avowed free speech goals?

Yaccarino’s post began well, championing “information independence” and defending people’s right to make up their minds based on a free exchange of ideas. She also mentioned censorship as holding back progress. She argued that “freedom of speech” and discussions about it are highly beneficial. The X CEO then clarified, however, that she exempts undefined “hate speech” and anti-Semitism from free speech protections. 

Salgado then called on her boss to opine:

“Twitter has come a long way, and there’s been a lot of improvement, but it is still not a true free speech zone,” said MRC Free Speech America VP Dan Schneider. “The antidote to hate speech is not censorship, but more free speech. The little lizards in basements will only come out with more vile statements if they’re muzzled, but when held to public scrutiny they’re chastised appropriately.”

Remember that Schneider tried to defend neo-Nazi extremism on Substack — and doesn’t seem to understand that there is, in fact, speech so hateful that private corporations have every right to moderate it. And, again, Schneider is not such a fan of free speech that he won’t unblock ConWebWatch from following the MRC’s @FreeSpeechAmer Twitter/X feed, which he is in charge of.

Meanwhile, Salgado whined more about Twitter/X’s moderation efforts:

Unfortunately, Yaccarino does not seem to hold that same view. “For all the good, there’s also a point when information independence crosses a line too, and that’s hate speech. We must all act now to combat hate as Elon firmly stated during the European Jewish Association’s symposium,” Yaccarino wrote. “Sadly, since the October 7th terrorist attack antisemitism and hate speech have accelerated in the world.” While it is encouraging that Yaccarino and Musk are deeply concerned about anti-Semitism, especially in light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, some anti-Semitic speech is still protected under the Constitution, as not being direct calls to violence. Furthermore, Yaccarino did not stop with anti-Semitism, repeatedly mentioning “hate speech,” but without defining the term.

Yaccarino asserted that “freedom of speech and safety” can exist together, but her following boast about the level of censorship still occurring on X makes her claim somewhat questionable. “Last year we removed millions of pieces of content and suspended just as many accounts that violated our Terms of Service, including Violent speech and Hateful conduct policy,” Yaccarino wrote. “Plus we’ve opened more lines of communication with groups dedicated to the safety of communities both in physical and virtual spaces.”

Salgado didn’t explain why hate and violent threats should be allowed to stand, well, anywhere. And if Salgado can’t figure out what hate speech is, she can’t be a very valuable employee — unless, of course, she’s playing dumb so she can manufacture a little outrage.