Twitter falsely ban Brittany Venti and The Quartering for exposing Eliza Bleu/Knows alleged lies and inconsistencies.
Twitter, the social media giant, has once again been caught in the middle of a censorship scandal, this time involving the banning of popular YouTubers Brittany Venti and Jeremy Hambly of The Quartering. The pair was banned from the platform after sharing a screenshot from a Worldstar Hip Hop music video featuring human trafficking survivor and advocate Eliza Bleu/Knows/Cuts/Siep.
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The video in question, which was released on February 19, 2016, and is still available on YouTube, depicts Bleu scantily clad and dancing provocatively. At the time of the video’s release, Bleu went by the name of Eliza Knows, and she was not yet the prominent and respected human trafficking advocate she is today.
As an alleged human trafficking survivor, and one of the most vocal advocates for the cause, Bleu has been featured on numerous popular podcasts, including Lex Fridman, where she shared her harrowing story of survival. However, her credibility and integrity were called into question when a thread appeared on Twitter that highlighted inconsistencies in her statements.
Brittany Venti, a former Twitch troll turned conservative commentator and women’s rights advocate, reached out to Bleu in a respectful manner, asking her to address the thread and the music video. However, when Bleu refused to address or respond to the controversies, Venti took to Twitter to share a screenshot of the music video. This action resulted in Venti being banned from the platform for “sharing privately produced/distributed intimate media without their express consent.”
Jeremy Hambly of The Quartering, a YouTube channel with 1.5 million subscribers, reported on Venti’s ban and shared the same screenshot, resulting in him receiving the same ban. This caused a great deal of outrage from both Venti and Hambly’s followers, who believed that the bans were unjustified and a violation of their freedom of speech.
In response to the bans, Bleu issued a statement, claiming that the images shared were taken of her without her consent, even though the YouTube video clearly shows otherwise. She also announced that she would be suing anyone who shares screenshots of the video. This move was seen as an attempt to silence those who were questioning her credibility, and was met with a great deal of skepticism.
A Community Note, which is essentially a crowd-sourced fact-checking system added to Twitter, was later added to the tweet, providing context and proving that Eliza Bleu had, in fact, consented to being in the Worldstar Hip Hop music video and was compensated for it. Despite this overwhelming evidence, Twitter denied both Venti and Hambly’s appeals.
This incident raises serious questions about censorship and the use of social media platforms to silence voices that challenge the status quo. It also highlights the dangerous precedent that is being set by individuals using their connections and influence to silence those who disagree with them.
The story of Eliza Bleu is a complex one, and it’s important to remember that her experiences as a human trafficking survivor should not be dismissed or downplayed. However, the inconsistencies in her story, and her refusal to address them, have cast doubt on her credibility. This raises the question of whether or not the ends justify the means, and if it’s acceptable for an individual to silence those who question their integrity.
Twitter’s decision to ban Venti and Hambly for sharing a public music video that was available on YouTube for years, is a troubling one, and it’s worth questioning the motivations behind such a decision. The platform’s actions have led to a great deal of speculation and conspiracy theories, with many believing that the bans were politically motivated.
In a world where social media plays such a significant role in shaping public opinion and discourse, it’s crucial that platforms like Twitter remain impartial and unbiased in their moderation practices. Censorship, in any form, is a dangerous path to tread, and it’s important that platforms are transparent and accountable for their actions. The banning of Venti and Hambly (The Quartering), along with the refusal to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that the screenshots they shared were not “privately produced/distributed intimate media,” calls into question the integrity of Twitter’s moderation practices.
Moreover, it’s also worth considering the impact that this incident has on the survivors of human trafficking and their advocates. When an advocate’s credibility is called into question, it undermines the very cause they are fighting for. It’s important to remember that survivors of human trafficking have already been through a traumatic experience, and any further trauma caused by public scrutiny should be avoided as much as possible.
The banning of Brittany Venti and Jeremy Hambly of The Quartering on Twitter, and the subsequent actions of Eliza Bleu, raise important questions about censorship, freedom of speech, and the use of social media platforms to silence dissenting voices. It’s crucial that platforms like Twitter remain impartial and unbiased in their moderation practices, and that individuals are held accountable for their actions. We should also remember that the survivors of human trafficking deserve sensitivity, privacy and respect in their journey towards healing and advocacy.