Does a journalist’s right to “free speech” include the right NOT to be blocked by President Trump on Twitter?
Because that’s what this journalist is alleging…
In a real live lawsuit…
For real…
Me in @FortuneMagazine. https://t.co/gmPs6HGfbO
— Rebecca Pilar Buckwalter-Poza (they/she) (@rpbp) July 14, 2017
“On Twitter, the bulk of my recent follower growth and new relationships with others in the politico-legal sphere have come out of responding quickly when the president tweets and engaging the threads of conversation that flow from those tweets,” writes journalist Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza in her Fortune piece. “So when President Donald Trump blocked me in June, apparently for suggesting that Russia influenced the outcome of the 2016 election, he harmed me professionally.”
What’s next, a lawsuit because you aren’t allowed in White House press briefings?
Buckwalter-Poza laments:
Gone now is my ability to participate in the timeliest and most robust conversations around law, policy, and politics on Twitter—those around the president’s tweets. Taking part in these exchanges was an ideal way to stay current on not just facts, but new ideas. These threads make up the marketplace of ideas in which my peers and potential employers, colleagues, and audience are present and participating. I’ve been forced out and have no meaningful way to rejoin them.
And finishes with a nod to “free speech,” as if President Trump’s exclusion of her from his personal Twitter account is somehow abridging that: “It never occurred to me that I’d end up in court. I can’t say I’m glad I have, but I am proud to stand up for the right to free speech, which is essential to not only to individual people—and entire professions—but democracy.”
Eloquent, if illogical. And it’s the illogical part that’s getting Buckwalter-Poza hammered on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/bkerogers/status/885952580202967041
Some people lose jobs because of robots, or because the plant was moved to Mexico; others because a celebrity blocked them on the twitterz
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) July 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/885947529438916608
https://twitter.com/JoshaBiceps/status/886055392890937346
https://twitter.com/CynicalGarfield/status/885962781635350528
Trump’s tweets are fully visible to anyone not logged into Twitter. Unless your purpose is to tweet him, this literally doesn’t affect you.
— neontaster (@neontaster) July 14, 2017
— Lisa Talley ?? (@jhawk1986) July 15, 2017
Definition of a frivolous lawsuit. I hope the judge throws your case out and makes you pay @POTUS… https://t.co/3pTj1fg4lI
— 🇺🇸 #IAmTheNRA Rosenblum (@StevenRosenblum) July 15, 2017
https://twitter.com/SantaCarlaDavid/status/885957992084107264
Interestingly, it looks as if the suing party isn’t quite as Twitter-incompetent as she lets on…
G20 according to @realdonaldtrump: General statements, all-caps slogan, slideshow clip. pic.twitter.com/Oi0h880uxS
— Rebecca Pilar Buckwalter-Poza (they/she) (@rpbp) July 9, 2017
So no…
Being blocked by the president on twitter is not affecting your speech pic.twitter.com/KzhUvBK95s
— Ryan (@alwaysonoffense) July 14, 2017
Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BizPac Review.
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