Donald Trump Jr. accuses Twitter and Instagram of 'shadow banning' him and other conservatives in new book 'Triggered'
Donald Trump Jr. has claimed in his new book that he is a victim of "shadow banning" by social media networks in what he called a conspiracy to censor conservative voices.
In 'Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us', President Donald Trump's eldest son wrote, "With every day that goes by, Twitter and Instagram are removing more and more of my posts from people’s timeline."
According to Don Jr., people who have liked or shared his posts "have been reporting sudden problems with their accounts or temporary lockouts from their devices."
In response to the New York Post, Twitter denied the president's son's claims, with the spokesperson saying, "We enforce our rules dispassionately and do not engage in so-called shadow banning. We are constantly working to improve our systems and will continue to be transparent in our efforts."
Vice News last year alleged Twitter was suppressing the "visibility of prominent Republicans." According to Vice, while a user could search for those accounts, Twitter would not automatically suggest them—which is not what shadow banning entails. The article started an online debate over the term's definition.
Twitter stated that their behavioral ranking "doesn't make judgments based on political views or the substance of Tweets."
In May, the company said in a blog post that it would start using “policies, human review processes, and machine learning” to monitor accounts. The results of that review would “now be considered in how we organize and present content in communal areas like conversation and search,” it said.
Don Jr. writes, "I’m essentially not allowed to have an opinion anymore, let alone express that opinion in public."
Earlier this year, Instagram removed a post by Donald Trump Jr. where he wrote about actor Jussie Smollett's claims that he was assaulted. Smollett had claimed he was assaulted by Trump supporters wearing the red "Make America Great Again" hats. When Trump Jr. wrote a post mocking those claims, Instagram removed the post. The company later reinstated the post saying they had made an error.
Don Jr. also made other notable claims in his new book, suggesting his father can't be racist because he allowed him to play video games with Michael Jackson. Trump Jr. also believes his father is more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than former President Barack Obama.