Updated Aug 9, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Twitter unlocks Mitch McConnell's campaign account

Rebecca Falconer

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) walks to a series of votes at the U.S. Capitol August 1 — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Twitter reinstated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign account Friday after the profile was suspended earlier this week for posting a profanity-laced video of protesters outside the Kentucky senator's home.

What they're saying: "After multiple appeals from affected users and Leader McConnell’s team confirming their intent to highlight the threats for public discussion, we have reviewed this case more closely," Twitter's communication team explained in thread of tweets Friday.

The company added: "Going forward, the video will be visible on the service with a sensitive media interstitial and only in cases where the Tweet content does not otherwise violate the Twitter Rules."

Context: Following the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the hashtag "Massacre Mitch" was trending on Twitter, in reference to 2 gun control bills that have stalled in the Senate.

Fox News reported activists protested outside the home of McConnell, where he has been recovering since fracturing his shoulder in a fall last Sunday. This was captured in the video at the center of the Twitter suspension.
Trump and GOP lawmakers have frequently alleged social media companies are biased against conservatives — a charge the companies deny.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and President Trump's re-election campaign on Thursday pledged to freeze spending on Twitter "to protest the platform's treatment" of McConnell, AP reports.

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Twitter unlocks Mitch McConnell's campaign account

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