GOP pols demand answers from Twitter over ‘non-response’ on China’s ‘lies’ and ‘conspiracy theories’

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Intel report: China concealing extent of outbreak

Iris Independent Research President Rebecca Grant joins Jon Scott to discuss the intel that China is concealing the extent of their outbreak.

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Two Republican lawmakers blasted Twitter on Tuesday for what they called a “non-response” to a letter they sent to the social media giant last month asking why it was allowing Chinese government officials to use its platform to promote COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

"Your attorneys’ carefully-crafted, seven-page letter deflects while managing to completely omit any mention of either ‘China’ or the ‘Chinese Communist Party,’” wrote Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.

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“You do owe the American people—and indeed, the Chinese public, which has zero access to accurate information about this life-threatening pandemic—an explanation,” the letter continued. “We look forward to an actual response.”

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Chinese government officials have been criticized by countries around the world for not being transparent during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“PRC [People’s Republic of China] diplomats have tweeted lies that the Chinese government has been completely transparent throughout the crisis,” Sasse and Gallagher wrote in their initial March 20 letter to Twitter. “[Chinese government officials] have also shamelessly propagated conspiracy theories like the United States created the coronavirus.”

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Sasse and Gallagher want Chinese government officials banned from the platform.

Twitter’s response on March 27 directed them to the company’s guidelines for world leaders.

“Direct interactions with fellow public figures, comments on political issues of the day, and foreign policy saber-rattling are generally not in violation of the Twitter Rules — regardless of the origin,” wrote Twitter.