GOP leader mocked for tweet complaining of conservative censorship on Twitter

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was mocked on social media for a misleading tweet complaining that Twitter was censoring conservative voices.

Twitter has been criticized by several conservative figures who say the site is “shadow banning” right-leaning voices.

McCarthy, attempting to tweet an example of such censorship, shared a screenshot of a tweet from Fox News host Laura Ingraham that was covered by a warning of “potentially sensitive content.”{mosads}

“Another day, another example of conservatives being censored on social media,” he tweeted. “[Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey] easy fix: explain to Congress what is going on. #StopTheBias.”

Another day, another example of conservatives being censored on social media. @jack easy fix: explain to Congress what is going on. #StopTheBias cc @IngrahamAngle pic.twitter.com/QjzpmfadXS

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) August 17, 2018

Twitter users were quick to point out that Ingraham’s tweet was covered up due to settings in McCarthy’s own Twitter account, not because of a company campaign to silence conservative voices.

Kevin, bless your heart, you have sensitive media filters turned on.

smdhhttps://t.co/EaggejWNLy

— ➖Dustin Miller➖ (@spdustin) August 18, 2018

“I closed my browser and the internet went away. Another example of conservatives being censored on social media.” -Kevin McCarthy, I assume

— Spoony Brad (@SpoonyBrad) August 19, 2018

That’s not Twitter censoring her tweets. It’s Twitter following your own personal account settings.

My God, this is just embarrassing.

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) August 18, 2018

All you need to do to see Ingraham’s racist tirades is to go to Settings > Privacy and Safety and switch the Safety settings at the bottom to look like this. You’re going to hold Congressional hearings to demand that CEOs give you tech support now? pic.twitter.com/MIIlOY4uAM

— Greg Fish (@GregAFish) August 18, 2018

Hey dumbass: change your settings. This is user error.

— DerenNey (@DerenNey) August 19, 2018

Twitter’s Dorsey is facing a potential subpoena from a House committee on a range of issues, including perceived bias against conservatives.

The company has said that it does not “shadow ban” according to political ideology, but acknowledged that its attempts to crack down on hate speech have unintentionally reduced search results for lawmakers from both parties.

Dorsey also admitted on Saturday that Twitter employees share a largely left-leaning bias.

“We need to constantly show that we are not adding our own bias, which I fully admit is … is more left-leaning,” Dorsey said. “But the real question behind the question is, are we doing something according to political ideology or viewpoints? And we are not. Period.”

President Trump has also spoken out on the issue, tweeting that the platform is “totally discriminating” against conservative users.

“Let everybody participate, good & bad, and we will all just have to figure it out!” he said.