The free speech social network Gab was banned from PayPal, the payment service Stripe and the hosting service Joylent on Saturday after CBS News and other outlets suggested the site was to blame for the synagogue shooting.
Accused shooter Robert Bowers reportedly had an account at the site that was filled with anti-Semitic and anti-Trump posts. Gab immediately banned Bowers after the news came out, took down his profile and voluntarily gave all relevant information they had on him to the authorities to aid in their investigation.
Gab, which is regularly accused of being a platform for the alt-right, released a statement condemning the shooting and said they backed up user data from Bowers’ account before taking it offline. The company also said they contacted the FBI. https://t.co/yFyUBvpFuO
— VICE News (@vicenews) October 27, 2018
Nonetheless, PayPal was the first to drop the ban hammer:
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056283312522637312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056283312522637312&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
Though Paypal banned Gab without providing them with an explanation, they told The Verge in a statement afterwards: “The company is diligent in performing reviews and taking account actions. When a site is explicitly allowing the perpetuation of hate, violence or discriminatory intolerance, we take immediate and decisive action.”
Joylent followed next:
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056362626077220865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056362626077220865&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
Then the payment processor Stripe:
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056381133821112321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056381133821112321&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
Gab said they were doing everything in their power to work with law enforcement “to see to it that justice is served”:
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056366487378620416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056366487378620416&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
CBS News interviewed CNET senior producer Dan Patterson (CNET is owned by CBS) after the shooting and Patterson suggested Gab was personally responsible for all the posts on their social media platform. Patterson said that “expressions of anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia, these are not air quote, free speech, in fact, these are expressions of bigotry and very clearly anti-American.”
“These are indisputably the ideas of repression, the very opposite of free speech,” Patterson said. “These ideas repress and are designed to shut down truly American ideas, like the freedom to worship and celebrate your religion without the threat of or actual violence.”
Patterson’s comments are factually incorrect, fake news.
The Supreme Court just recently ruled unanimously that so-called “hate speech” is free speech.
Equally notable, Patterson said you don’t find any similar volume of hateful comments on Facebook and Twitter, which is also a flat out lie.
Cesar Sayoc reportedly openly made multiple death threats on Twitter just weeks ago and despite getting reported the site ruled such threats did not violate their policies:
Hey @Twitter remember when I reported the guy who was making threats towards me after my appearance on @FoxNews and you guys sent back a bs response about how you didn’t find it that serious. Well guess what it’s the guy who has been sending #bombs to high profile politicians!!!! pic.twitter.com/xBY8FMbqnq
— R O C H E L L E (@RochelleRitchie) October 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056333657797873664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056333657797873664&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
In the past, all these social networks had the same policies as Gab has now which they used to help create the largest social networking companies on the internet — all free from liability and free from being held responsible for the actions of their users.
Now that they’re the most powerful companies on the internet, they’re using “hate speech” as an excuse to prevent competitors from rising and demanding these sites be subject to a completely different set of rules.
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056399053787811846?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056399053787811846&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
Suicides, murders and death threats are regularly posted and livestreamed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. The amount of so-called “hate speech” on those three platforms — according to their own arbitrary definitions — dwarfs anything Gab or any other site could ever even imagine.
Despite these Big Tech sites moving to actively taking a role as a publisher by censoring views they disagree with, to this day they’re not held responsible for any of the actions of their users.
This is dangerous. This is 1984. This is the suppression of speech. If you do not stand now you do not say you stand against totalitarianism. When the powerful are allowed to silence the minority that is the definition of totalitarianism. https://t.co/2XkBr2fipa
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) October 28, 2018
The FCC never pulled the licenses of the networks that talked America into endless wars. Their hosting providers never dumped them.
This is just about eliminating competition. https://t.co/wfHmUx5GDG
— Stefan Molyneux (@StefanMolyneux) October 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/Grummz/status/1056363778470666240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056363778470666240&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1056367744927465472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056367744927465472&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationliberation.com%2F%3Fid%3D59267
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