In a totally unsurprising development, Twitter is at it again censoring another user for calling the left out on their hypocrisy. I know, I know. You’re completely blown away by this news.
On Tuesday evening the popular account Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) was suspended. The account almost exclusively posts photos juxtaposing two tweets from a particular leftist politician, commentator, celebrity, or organization highlighting either blatant hypocrisy, or how the older tweet simply did not age well. The user almost never adds any kind of commentary to the post.
Shortly after the suspension, podcaster Eliza Bleu posted this message, stating that it was from the mystery person behind the Defiant L’s account.
Breaking: A message from Defiant L’s who’s account on Twitter was suspended. pic.twitter.com/37enaIJSjM
— Eliza (@elizableu) February 16, 2022
According to them, Twitter claimed “ban evasion” was the reason for the suspension, despite the user not having a previously-banned account. It certainly wouldn’t make sense for Twitter to ban an account that just posted pictures of other people’s tweets and the occasional news headline. You can’t exactly claim something like that to be “offensive” or “misinformation.”
It did not take long for regular Twitter users and big names alike to line up in defense of Defiant L’s and demand that Twitter reinstate their account. Within a couple hours, the hashtag #FreeDefiantLs was trending. Florida Senator Marco Rubio jumped into the discussion, guessing that a tweet from the account highlighting anti-gun activist Quintez Brown’s alleged attempt to shoot a Louisville mayoral candidate had something to do with the suspension.
Is pointing out liberal hypocrisy a violation of @twitter rules?
Well lets find out #DefiantLs @DefiantLs pic.twitter.com/KljHyujfHs
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 16, 2022
Conservative media personality Benny Johnson speculated that it had more to do with the account highlighting information on Hillary Clinton’s alleged spying on the Trump campaign in order to drum up the narrative that he was some kind of Russian asset.
This is the tweet that got @DefiantLs Epstein’d pic.twitter.com/J7nqPtReey
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 16, 2022
Regardless of the reason, the angry tweets kept piling on, applying pressure to Twitter to reinstate the popular account. The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro tweeted this out to his 3.8 million followers.
So @DefiantLs made the crucial error of screenshotting tweets people on the Left didn't like — and then got suspended for that. Sounds legit.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 16, 2022
Even the Big Red Machine himself, WWE Superstar Kane, tweeted out a screenshot from just hours earlier when he had retweeted Defiant L’s previously that day. The famous pro wrestler, whose real name is Glenn Jacobs, spends his time these days as the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.
I'm glad I was able to retweet this before @Twitter memory holed @DefiantLs.#FreeDefiantLs pic.twitter.com/VQai1Z5BoO
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) February 16, 2022
Perhaps we’ll never know for sure whether this was just a simple mistake on the part of Twitter, or if it was truly an attempt to silence this popular user. Mistakes do happen, but given Twitter’s track record on banning right-wing voices from their platform, including most notably Donald Trump while he was still the sitting president of the United States, it’s only reasonable that people would think this was an intentional act to strike down an account that was embarrassing the left.
Thankfully, the next morning Twitter reversed the suspension, and Defiant L’s was allowed back on the platform once again.
IM. BACK. pic.twitter.com/drII9lTcLA
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) February 16, 2022
You have to wonder if Twitter would have ever made the decision to let them back if it weren’t for such a loud outcry, though. They probably had no idea how much support the user had, and expected to quietly silence them. It just goes to show how much people appreciate when mainstream news outlets, dishonest politicians, and left-wing activists get called out.
Brady Bowyer is a veteran of many political campaigns ranging from the municipal to federal level, as well as several pro-freedom PACs and nonprofits. Check out more of Brady’s work on his Substack, Leaning into Liberty. He and his wife are proud to call South Carolina’s Lowcountry their home.
"*" indicates required fields
