Actor James Woods has accused Twitter of pushing the agenda of CEO Jack Dorsey after he was locked out of his account Thursday over a tweet sent months ago found to be in violation of rules.
The tweet was posted July 20 included a hoax meme that said it came from Democrats and encouraged men not to vote in the midterm elections, which led the micro-blogging site to shut him down after it was considered to be material that would suppress votes or deliberately deceive, reports Associated Press.
Woods got an email saying the tweet ‘has the potential to be misleading in a way that could impact an election’ and allegedly told Woods he could use his account again if he deleted the post.
James Woods has accused Twitter of pushing the agenda of CEO Jack Dorsey after he was locked out of his account Thursday over a tweet sent months ago
The meme said ‘#LetWomenDecide and #NoMenMidterm’ and website knowyourmeme.com determined it to be fake.
At the time Woods 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 …’
He told AP 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.
The social media giants told AP it doesn’t comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons and a spokesperson said 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.’
Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey (pictured September 5 at Capitol Hill) was accused of blocking free speech
The thespian said if he deleted the tweet it wouldn’t ode well for the future of free speech.
Twitter said in the email Woods would be suspended from the social media platform permanently if there are repeated abuses.
His girlfriend Sara Miller Friday and it had been retweeted at least 12,000 times by Sunday.
However his girlfriend’s account wasn’t given the same treatment, which he said was proof that he’d been muted because of his large Twitter following.
‘This is the tweet @RealJamesWoods was locked for. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the “Streisand Effect” kicked in and it was retweeted 10,000 times?’ Miller captioned the image. ‘Retweet at your peril. @Jack is watching…’
He noted that his original tweet was reposted by his girlfriend Sara Miller Friday and had been retweeted at least 12,000 times by Sunday
Miller warned Twitter followers that Jack Dorsey was watching in her post Friday
Woods has appeared in motion pictured such as Salvador, Ghosts of Mississippi and Casino and is followed by more than 1.7 million people on Twitter.
He is known for his conservative political views.
His Twitter page still exists but he can’t access it but many of his recent tweets – including his views of the stories circulating about Christine Blasey Ford accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades ago – remain online.
Dorsey testified before the GOP-led House Energy and Commerce Committee on September 5, as the committee examined whether Twitter has censored conservatives.
He represented Twitter as was on of many social media companies that have come under pressure to get hate speech and posts that could influence elections offline.
AP contacted Woods on Sunday through his girlfriend’s Twitter account where he agreed to have a FaceTime conversation to verify his identity.
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
Woods (pictured November 2016) was found to be in violation of Twitter’s rules
He noted that it might be pointless to try to appeal Twitter blocking his account.
‘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?’ he said.
‘I wish this were about an unknown Twitter user so that I could be even more passionate about it.
‘This is not about a celebrity being muzzled. This is about an American being silenced – one tweet at a time.’