BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey was suspended from Twitter on Thursday for violating the social media website’s rules by referring to transgender New Zealand Olympic athlete Laurel Hubbard by his biological sex.
The podcast host shared a screenshot of an email she received from Twitter on Instagram, writing that she was suspended for 12 hours “for saying Laurel Hubbard is a man” in a tweet.
“What’s that Orwell quote? Something about the further people get from the truth the more people will hate those who say it,” wrote Stuckey.
The email Stuckey received said her tweet violated Twitter Rules against hateful conduct.
“You man not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, natural origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease,” the email reads.
The offending tweet said: “Laura [sic] Hubbard failing at the event doesn’t make his inclusion fair. He’s still a man, and men shouldn’t compete against women in weightlifting.”
Hubbard, a biological male who identifies as female, was cleared to compete against women weightlifters at the Tokyo Olympics and then exited early from competition after failing to finish the snatch portion of the women’s +87kg competition on Monday.
Stuckey told TheBlaze that she doesn’t believe her tweet constitutes violence, a threat, nor harassment.
“I of course don’t think stating biological facts promotes violence! I don’t hate Laurel or anyone who identifies as transgender, but I also don’t believe in affirming that which is objectively untrue,” said Stuckey.
“I believe in the fairness and safety and rights of girls and women. That means recognizing sex differences. No amount of self-declarations can change that. Sex matters. Biology matters. Facts matter.”
According to Twitter, the platform’s mission is “to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information, and to express their opinions and beliefs without barriers.”
“Free expression is a human right – we believe that everyone has a voice, and the right to use it,” the company says in the explanation of its rules against “hateful conduct.”
“We recognize that if people experience abuse on Twitter, it can jeopardize their ability to express themselves,” Twitter adds.
Twitter rules prohibit “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals” — that is, referring to a transgender person by the pronouns associated with their sex assigned at birth or by their birth name.
When Twitter determines a tweet violates its rules, the violator must remove it before they can tweet again.
*story by The Blaze
