Actor James Woods fumes after Twitter locks him out
 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Actor James Woods has been locked out of his Twitter account over a tweet he sent out months ago that was found to be in violation of Twitter's rules.

The tweet was posted July 20 and includes a hoax meme that said it came from Democrats and encouraged men not to vote in the midterm elections. Woods got an email from Twitter on Thursday saying the tweet "has the potential to be misleading in a way that could impact an election." The email says Woods can use his account again if he deletes the tweet.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Woods said this means he'll be allowed back on Twitter only if he decides to do what Twitter says and accedes to the social platform's concept of free speech — not the right to free speech outlined in the Constitution. He says he won't do that, and he won't delete the tweet.

"Free speech is free speech — it's not Jack Dorsey's version of free speech," Woods said, referring to Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey.

Twitter said it doesn't comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons. A spokesman for the social media platform said by email that he had nothing more to share when asked if Dorsey would respond directly to Wood's comments.

"The irony is, Twitter accused me of affecting the political process, when in fact, their banning of me is the truly egregious interference," Woods said. "Because now, having your voice smothered is much more disturbing than having your vocal chords slit. If you want to kill my free speech, man up and slit my throat with a knife, don't smother me with a pillow."

Woods said if he did what Twitter asked and deletes the tweet, it would force him to watch his step with everything he says in the future, chilling free speech. The email Woods received from Twitter said Woods would be suspended from the social media platform permanently if there are repeated abuses.

He noted that his original tweet was reposted by his girlfriend on Friday and had been retweeted at least 12,000 times by Sunday. His girlfriend's account wasn't locked, which he said was proof that he'd been singled out because of his large Twitter following.

Woods, who has more than 100 acting credits to his name and starred in several movies including "Salvador," ''Ghosts of Mississippi" and "Casino," has more than 1.7 million Twitter followers and is known for his conservative political views. His Twitter page is still online, though he can't access it. Many of his recent tweets include his views of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who accuses Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades ago.

The meme that Woods posted in July said #LetWomenDecide and #NoMenMidterm. It claimed to be from a Democratic group, but it was determined to be a hoax campaign to encourage liberal men not to vote in November, according to the website knowyourmeme.com.

Woods called it a parody. In his tweet, he acknowledged the meme likely wasn't real, saying: "Pretty scary that there is a distinct possibility this could be real. Not likely, but in this day and age of absolute liberal insanity, it is at least possible ..."

The tweet is considered to be material that would suppress votes or deliberately deceive, and was found to be in violation of Twitter rules.

Social media companies like Twitter have come under pressure to get hate speech and posts that could influence elections offline, learning quickly that they can't please everyone as they try to act as gatekeepers of discourse. Dorsey testified before the GOP-led House Energy and Commerce Committee earlier this month, as the committee examined whether Twitter has censored conservatives.

The AP reached Woods on Sunday through his girlfriend's Twitter account. After he shared information over messaging, he agreed to have a FaceTime conversation so the AP could verify his identity. When asked if he would appeal Twitter's decision to block his account, he said: "Was the American Revolution won by appealing to the oppressor? That's really what this is about. If I appeal and win, what victory is that?"

Woods said he wants open discourse, and called the situation a dangerous one for free speech.

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Free speech is free speech. He's right.

Twitter's free speech is to stifle James Wood's free speech because it may be dangerous and irresponsible. So they also have rights in this situation. It's a private company and they can censor whomever they want.

Just like the anti gay cake people have the right to not make cakes for a gay wedding. But the general public can exercise their rights to not use their services.

:1orglaugh

https://i.imgur.com/CgpQQ8N.gif

free speech does not apply on social sites :2 cents::2 cents: only to the government. they can ban you without giving you a reason

That's some shit you just made up.

Twitter is under no obligation to keep anything on their site they don't wish to have.

i backed what u said :helpme :1orglaugh

I don’t watcher read twitter at all. It is like the garbage side of the web. Why does anyone go there?

hahahahahahaha.com

Oh no I've been censored call the lawyers

lol..yeah..i had to go back and read it again.

I'm old enough to know the pendulum swings both ways. As much as I'm against those BLM retards, I would never applaud anyone, anywhere, censoring them. I'm surprised a bunch of porners on a porn forum would applaud this. I guess I've been around too long to understand this.

I misread that.

It's not a private company? How is he an idiot?

mrbaldcheekybastard

It has nothing to do with free speech...he can speak all day long...nobody is stopping him...he just cant do it on the property of people who decide against him using their property...its called freedom...nazis do not believe in freedom...

lots of censoring needed in this thread :)

From a legal point of view you're absolutely right.

But from a free speech point of view you give a tremendous amount of censorship & control into the hand of a few people.

Or to draw an even worse picture. Think about the worst political person you can actually come up with, and then imagine giving exactly THIS person that amount of censorship power...

He needs to delete one tweet ( breaking TOS ) to have his account re-instated ... cry me a river !!!!

Do you know how many words and images I had to delete from one of my sites to get Visa accepted ??????

Twitter is free to manage their property in a way that is consistant with who and what they want to be.

I have a right not to use twiiter if I choose.
But I never have.
Most all states, A Bartender has the right to not serve you for any reason he/she feels fit.
Even, if he just does not like you or how you look.
But to do it because he is black or yellow or Moslem or gay... that type of discrimination is not protected under federal law.

You come to my house and say something I don't like, . You had the right to say it. I have the right to see you to the door or have you removed.

You may do a lot of things in this country with the freedoms we enjoy, until your rights infringe on others rights.
Then you have a issue.

LOL
See if you can take a classified add out to say what you want....
You will be surprised and that is a service that you pay for !

Being that way and since the Supreme Court has equated MONEY= FREE SPEECH
???
But I have no problem with that.
I have a problem with 'anonymous money' = free speech !

And this last election, you seen the result of that.

The big boys fear boycott ! Which is the only real power you have !