The term “illegal alien” is properly defined as “a foreigner who has entered or resides in a country unlawfully or without the country’s authorization,” yet according to Twitter, the phrase is too offensive to use in an ad.
Ex-Army Ranger Sets the Record Straight After Obama Calls Benghazi a ‘Wild Conspiracy’
According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Twitter blocked them from using the phrase in an ad campaign, as reported by the Daily Wire.
“Yesterday, Twitter rejected four Center for Immigration Studies tweets for use in the Center’s Twitter Ads campaign, alleging hateful content. All four tweets use the statutory phrases ‘illegal alien’ or ‘criminal alien,’ and all of the tweets referenced law enforcement, either at the border or in the interior,” CIS wrote in a statement released Wednesday.
“Twitter’s only response to an inquiry about why promotion of the tweets was rejected: ‘We’ve reviewed your tweets and confirmed that it is ineligible to participate in the Twitter Ads program at this time based on our Hateful Content policy. Violating content includes, but is not limited to, that which is hate speech or advocacy against a protected group,'” the group added.
The rejected ads featured a video from The Daily Caller, according to Fox News, which included a clip of “illegal aliens pouring across the border.” CIS was using the video footage to prove “why we need a wall” at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Twitter reportedly rejected the ads because it contained offensive phrases, but CIS is arguing that the term “illegal alien” was used correctly. The group even pointed out on Twitter that it “has been used in both federal law and by the Supreme Court”:
1/ Twitter is not allowing us to promote any tweets including the phrase "illegal alien(s)", citing it as Hateful Content. However, the phrase "illegal aliens" has been used in both federal law and by the Supreme Court.
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) September 11, 2018
In the wake of the ad controversy, Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, noted that “illegal alien” is the correct and lawful term.
“‘Alien’—rather than ‘immigrant’—is the correct legal term, since ‘alien’ is defined in 8 U.S.C. §1101 (a)(3) as ‘any person not a citizen or national of the United States,'” he wrote for The Daily Signal. “Precision in the law is a vital principle, since the exact words used in statutes, regulations, contracts, guidance documents, and policy statements can significantly affect how they are applied and interpreted.”
Twitter CEO to Congress: Yep, Our Algorithm Has Been ‘Unfair’
Earlier this month, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appeared before Congress and admitted that his platform has been”unfair” to some users in how they vet tweets and Twitter accounts.
Dorsey was asked about Twitter’s “quality filter,” which reportedly “shadow-banned” around 600,000 different accounts.
In August, Twitter announced they would be fixing the filter, but just recently former Army Ranger and Benghazi hero Kris Paronto was suspended from the platform for tweeting mockery at former President Obama.
Though Dorsey promised to fix the filters, it seems like so far, nothing has been done to prevent the biased suppression of certain users and content.
(H/T: Daily Wire)