Thread by @bethanyshondark

I'm going to be honest: I'm struggling with myself over how I feel about the mass banning that Ali faced from the entire internet this weekend.

He is a bad person from every angle: on an interpersonal level, on a political level, from a moral level, everything. He is a convicted felon and a straight-up BAD guy. I really cannot stress this enough.

All of that being said: I don't think I'm comfortable with his ejection from the Internet (Twitter, Venmo/Paypal, etc). He hasn't been convicted of anything over Stop the Steal. I'm SURE he has been grifting and honestly probably engaged in fraud, again.

Do I think he should be investigated for his role in the violence from 1/6 and financial impropriety? Yes, abso-freaking-lutely. But absent that investigation turning up actionable evidence, I am not comfortable with his wholesale booting from the Internet/commerce.

This pains me to say, because the Internet (and America) would be better off without him. But there has to be a certain amount of due process and transparency, even on Venmo and Twitter.

All of this said, unlike most of my opinions, I’m really not married to this one. Open to your thoughts and arguments.

Interesting update and honestly on brand for Ali. Liars lie, etc.

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1348689299105931267

I just tested it and got an error.

Also sent to me a few times and worth adding to this thread. I will say 1) I haven’t had a chance to watch bc I’m around kids and this doesn’t seem kid friendly. 2) unclear where this was posted.

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1348493320163520512

If Yashar’s description holds (no reason to doubt its accuracy and I apologize for not being able to watch myself at the moment), this video is relevant. But where it was posted matters too. Should what he says on one platform dictate if he’s tossed off others?