The internet is crying out for Milo Yiannopoulos to be allowed back on Twitter.
Several online polls have recorded overwhelming majorities calling for the alt-right conservative firebrand to be re-instated on the microblogging social network after Twitter concluded he had led a harassment campaign against Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones and booted him off the network.
Yet the arguments that Milo himself wasn’t racist to the black actress, that far worse things have been said on the forum by people who happen not to be politically conservative, and that the ban seems incompatible with Twitter’s commitment to free speech have been supported in various polls conducted since he was ejected on Monday night.
A poll conducted by Magaman suggested 82% were in favor of Milo being re-instated, 8% disagreed and 10% didn’t care.
POLL
Should Twitter reinstate @Nero (Milo Yiannopolous)? #FreeMilo#JeSuisMilo#FagLives matter #MAGA— MAGAMAN™️ (@realMAGAMAN) July 20, 2016
A poll by UK Politics.net in Milo’s native England, meanwhile, suggested that his countrymen back his return—71% wanted him back on Twitter and 29% didn’t.
And a survey by Evan Rysien Amidian—who describes himself as a “Classical Liberal, Openly Gay, Shin Buddhist”—found that 74% support letting Milo back on Twitter while 15% are in favor of a ban and 11% are unsure.
#FreeMilo and #FreeNero (a reference to his Twitter handle) have been trending on Twitter ever since he was ejected. The #FreeMilo hashtag has been used over 300,000 times by his supporters.
Numerous petitions calling on Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to unsuspend Milo have also emerged on change.org.
Twitter’s actions towards Milo, and the possible implications for freedom of expression on the social network, have generated global coverage.
Many liberals and SJWs have delighted in Milo’s Twitter demise, as we reported. But a broad cross-political consensus appears to support his reinstatement on the grounds of freedom of speech, with outlets ranging from the New York Observer to the Irish Times declaring Twitter was wrong to silence Milo.
After the ban Milo told Fox News: “[Twitter] targets conservatives while letting the left, Islamists, and in particular the social justice warrior vanguard of the millennial generation get away scot-free with abusive, racist and harassing behavior.”
Jack Dorsey: Jack: Reinstate Milo on twitter – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/6A7XGNAVw7 via @Change
— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) July 21, 2016
Although Milo, who has been taking time off this week from a U.S. college speaking tour to attend the Republican National Convention, has been a frequent critic of what he sees as Twitter’s left-wing bias, he recently outlined to Heat Street why the issue matters so much. “Look at who Twitter punishes,” he said.
“If you examine the appalling, abusive bigoted language of many leftist activists on Twitter who are allowed to go about their business totally unmolested and you contrast that with occasionally waspish jokes from a gay columnist and look at which of those two people gets punished, the story is clear.
“Censoring Conservative points of view or censoring libertarian points of view on Twitter has a huge effect on the press and a huge effect on democracy because Twitter has an effective monopoly on certain kinds of speech.
“There’s a sense in which if I want to tell black dick jokes or I want to tell jokes about Mexicans and the pub down the road from me doesn’t want me to tell jokes there, I can go tell those jokes in a different pub. But the situation with Twitter is that this is the only pub in town.
“If I want to make certain kinds of arguments, or object to certain bits of bad reasoning, this is the only pub there is and if they don’t want it, I don’t have anywhere else to go!”
@jack@twitter, re-instate @Nero‘s account. You aren’t the thought police! Diversity of thought isn’t hate speech!#FREEDADDY#FreeMiloNow
— Micki Merner (@MickiSMerner) July 21, 2016
Multiple YouTube videos featuring Yiannopoulos have reached hundreds of thousands of views.
