Republicans and conservatives lost followers on Twitter after the platform announced a purge of QAnon and spam accounts in wake of the insurrection into Capitol Hill.
Former White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, got dunked on by her old high school teacher on Twitter after she complained about losing Twitter followers. Sarah Sanders was blaming "big tech" for bias as she shared a tweet showing Republicans had lost thousands of Twitter followers while Democrats seemed to have gained followers. She screamed government interference only for her old high school teacher to school her by saying she would understand the First Amendment better if she'd taken advanced history class, reported The Independent. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who worked as White House press secretary under Trump, was one of many Republicans and conservatives who complained about losing Twitter followers after the platform announced a purge of QAnon and spam accounts. The cull of QAnon accounts by Twitter caused a massive drop in followers of the Republican leaders - which says a lot about the party's core support.
I’ve lost 50k+ followers this week. The radical left and their big tech allies cannot marginalize, censor, or silence the American people. This is not China, this is United States of America, and we are a free country. https://t.co/Xupd0N1hea
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) January 9, 2021
Republicans complaining about the loss of followers on Twitter just two days after an insurrection into Capitol Hill organized by a Trump-incited mob also tells a lot about the party. Sarah Huckabee Sanders retweeted Mike Pompeo, showing a host of Republicans had lost followers while Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer gained followers following the Capitol Hill insurrection and purge of QAnon and spam accounts. Sanders tweeted: I’ve lost 50k+ followers this week. The radical Left and their big tech allies cannot marginalize, censor, or silence the American people. This is not China, this is the United States of America, and we are a free country. After four years of shouting radical left, it is ironic that it was MAGA extremists who rioted and attacked American democracy as they stormed Capitol Hill to stop Congress from certifying Biden as the winner of the 2020 Presidential election.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders lamented the loss of Twitter followers. A teacher at her old high school responded. pic.twitter.com/oatsdWkn21
— Alexander Nazaryan (@alexnazaryan) January 11, 2021
Sarah Huckabee Sanders came under criticism for tweeting about losing Twitter followers just two days after the insurrection but the strongest rebuke came from her old high school teacher. Dana D Deree, who stated that he taught at Sanders' old high school, tweeted: You were a student at Little Rock Central High when I taught AP Government there, but you didn't take the advanced class. If you had, maybe you would better understand the First Amendment and the difference between limits on government and freedoms for private individuals. Dana D Deree wasn't done yet. “I've taught Sunday School too. You didn't learn those lessons either,” added Deree.
The first amendment of the US constitution ensures freedom of speech and prohibits the government from passing a law prohibiting its free exercise. Twitter announced it was taking down accounts that were spreading conspiracy theories. The platform made the announcement in the wake of conspiracy theory-fuelled lies from Trump and the QAnon movement inciting a MAGA mob to storm Capitol Hill and endanger the lives of American lawmakers. Five people including a Capitol Hill cop was killed in the riots by far-right extremists. Twitter said it was taking "strong enforcement action" that potentially leads to offline harm. "These actions may have resulted in follower count changes in the thousands," said Twitter. Matt Gaetz, the US representative for Florida's 1st congressional district, tweeted on Saturday: "I wish I could lose weight as fast as I'm losing followers during this Twitter purge..."
Twitter also blocked President Donald Trump along with Facebook and a host of other social networks including Pinterest. Parler, which became a refuge for far-right extremists was removed from the web on Monday after enforcement action by Apple, Google, and Amazon Web Services.