On January 12th, 2021 at 1:22 PM, one of Twitter’s official corporate accounts declared that censoring the internet is a violation of basic human rights. This is not a parody. This is a thing that actually happened.
Just days after Twitter banned the sitting president of the United States, the president of Uganda has temporarily banned Twitter.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been accusing Twitter and Facebook of attempting to interfere with Uganda’s national election, which will be held on Thursday, January 14th. He claims US-based social media companies are using censorship and manipulation to control what information Ugandan voters are exposed to. Museveni alleges that this is being done for the benefit of his main adversaries, the National Unity Platform [NUP].
“That social channel you are talking about, if it is going to operate in Uganda, it should be used equitably by everybody who wants to use it. If you want to take sides against the [ruling party], then that group will not operate in Uganda.” – Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
Museveni has previously been denounced by a wide variety of left-leaning groups in the United States, some of which have partnerships with American social media companies.
Early today, Museveni ordered ISPs in Uganda to block foreign social media outlets until the election is over.
Twitter immediately denounced this censorship, saying the move violates human rights. Many are mocking Twitter over their response given recent events.
