Conservative figures reacted with outrage earlier today as Twitter suspended the official account of Unplanned during the pro-life movie’s week of release. The account was restored shortly after its suspension, which Twitter said was related to the ban of a different account.
Unplanned, directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon and starring Ashley Bratcher, tells the true-life story of Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood director who becomes a pro-life activist after witnessing a fetus struggling for life during an abortion at thirteen weeks gestation.
The film was released in U.S. theaters yesterday with a R-rating, which drew accusations of political bias against the MPAA, which assigns movie age ratings.
Twitter suspended Unplanned‘s official account, @UnplannedMovie earlier today. The social media platform has been widely criticized for alleged discrimination against conservatives, right-wingers.
Conservatives activists began lambasting Twitter for its decision shortly after the suspension. Lila Rose, director of the pro-life media movement Live Action also pointing out that the platform has banned her organization from running ads.
In a comment to Breitbart News, Twitter said that the suspension of Unplanned was an error related to the ban of a different account.
“It wasn’t directly about this account” said Twitter. “When an account violates the Twitter Rules, the system looks for linked accounts to mitigate things like ban evasion. In this case, on a second review, it was clear the account should not be affected by the other account’s suspension.”
Twitter just suspended @UnplannedMovie during the weekend of its theatrical release.@jack why are they suspended? You’ve banned both my & @LiveAction account from all promotions simply bc we’re pro-life. Have you banned this account because it challenges your pro-abortion bias? pic.twitter.com/TBarDx2sU4
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) March 30, 2019
MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell also criticized Twitter’s decision, and urged his followers to tell their friends to see Unplanned this weekend.
Why did Jack and @Twitter suspend the @unplannedmovie account? They don’t want you to see this movie! Make your voices heard and tell your friends to go see the movie this weekend! #unplanned #unplannedmovie @_AshleyBratcher https://t.co/MzZbs2Oq3l
— Mike Lindell (@realMikeLindell) March 30, 2019
Other prominent conservatives also demanded answers from Twitter.
Why did @Twitter suspend @UnplannedMovie account?!
An anti-abortion movie debuting NATIONWIDE in theaters this weekend gets suspended?
Does Twitter support murdering babies?
Does Twitter NOT support saving babies? #prolife
— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) March 30, 2019
Did Twitter suspend pro-life film @UnplannedMovie account?
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) March 30, 2019
I’m curious. Why did Twitter shut down @UnplannedMovie account?
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) March 30, 2019
Twitter has suspended @UnplannedMovie and every major network other than Fox News will not run its advertisement's. Tell me again how the liberals do not have an iron grip on what you are allowed to see and hear.
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) March 30, 2019
The account was unsuspended within an hour of its takedown, and thanked supporters of the movie for raising the alarm.
Thank you everyone for your support in letting @Jack & @Twitter know when our Unplanned Movie account was recently suspended without cause.
We are back and excited for the great response we're getting in theaters this weekend.#grateful https://t.co/vTmhqoXIWm— UnplannedMovie (@UnplannedMovie) March 30, 2019
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter, Gab.ai and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to allumbokhari@protonmail.com.
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