When Elon Musk took over Twitter, he almost immediately started to release communications that the social platform had with government officials under the former owners. What came out raised alarm among civil libertarians in both parties.
In particular, it was found that the FBI had worked with Twitter executives before the 2020 election to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story, as explained in a Fox News opinion column by Gregg Jarrett from February.
The FBI didn’t actually come out and order Twitter to ban the accounts and tweets of the New York Post and other outlets carrying the story, but it strongly suggested or requested that such accounts be shadow banned, blocked, or otherwise censored. It was like being pulled over by a police officer and being told, “You might want to slow down a little bit.”
The message is subtle but clear: Keep breaking the speed limit and you’ll be arrested and fined.
The FBI’s involvement was, according to the former Twitter head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, constant and pervasive, as he shared in testimony before a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing.
We should all be alarmed when government officials seek to censor information or opinion that they think may influence an election, and any public official doing so should be fired, at a minimum.
A public official cannot seek to influence or censor information in social, broadcast, or print media in their official capacity, and any sitting elected official should have sense enough to avoid the appearance of using his or her position to censor opinion or news.
Unfortunately, we might have a case of attempted pressuring of media here in Franklin County. A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about our county races for the county commission and other offices in which I gave a brief description of the candidates.
I described sitting Commissioner Dave Keller as a “conservative.” I’ve known Keller for about 14 years, and although we haven’t always agreed on every county issue, I can safely say that in my view, he is a conservative who has steadfastly supported the Republican Party, including during my four years as chairman of the local party, when many party liberals and moderates seemed to be working behind the scenes to undermine us locally.
My description of Keller as a conservative set off some alarm bells in the campaigns of a couple of candidates opposing him. One candidate, who is also a sitting commissioner, John Flannery, sent me an email on the evening of May 6, stating that I was “supporting Dave Keller as the ‘conservative’ for commissioner.”
Actually, that isn’t the case at all. I didn’t endorse any candidate for commissioner, including Keller.
In the article I wrote, “Incumbent David Keller is at ballot position number one. Keller, a conservative, has served as commission president and has overseen a commission that has not increased taxes for seven years.”
That’s not an endorsement; it’s only a factual statement.
Flannery went on to “ask” me to retract my comments, writing, “I ask you to retract your comments supporting Dave Keller as a conservative as it is just not true!” Although the message was from his old business email address, he formally signed it: “John T. Flannery, Franklin County Commissioner, Flannery Investment Group, LLC.”
Flannery’s email was ironic in that I can recall John once hosting, or at least co-hosting, a fundraiser for Keller at his former restaurant in Mercersburg. It’s also ironic that both Flannery and Keller have recently donated and supported the same Franklin County “conservative” organization which Flannery regularly praises and from which he took a $2,500 campaign contribution in the last election.
In case you missed it:Q&A with Republican candidates for Franklin County commissioner
Now, however, Flannery is marching to the beat of a different drummer. It could also be that recent campaign mailings praising Keller’s record as a law and order, fiscally responsible conservative have upset the apple cart for the well-funded campaigns of those seeking to unseat him.
Needless to say, I’m not retracting anything, or as I put it in my reply to Flannery, “No retraction is necessary or will be forthcoming because there is nothing to retract.” I also thanked him for reading my column, of course.
I’m no Twitter exec and Flannery certainly isn’t the FBI, but when a public official seeks to censor opinion using his official signature block, what price should he pay for his actions?
Dwight Weidman is a resident of Greene Township and is a graduate of Shepherd University. He is retired from the United States Department of Defense, where his career included assignments In Europe, Asia, and Central America. He has been in leadership roles for the Republican Party in two states, most recently serving two terms as Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party. He has been an Amateur Radio Operator since 1988, getting his first license in Germany, and is a past volunteer with both Navy and Army MARS, Military Auxiliary Radio Service, and is also a certified firearms instructor. In his spare time, he dabbles in genealogy and learning new languages.
