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Twitter temporarily locked the accounts of Splinter News and some of its staff members shortly after the outlet published an article that revealed the cell phone number of President Donald Trump's senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller. (Photo: Twitter/Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc)
Twitter Locks Accounts of Splinter News Staffers After Website Publishes White House Adviser Stephen Miller's Phone Number
President Donald Trump's Twitter account did not meet the same fate as those of Splinters' writers after he shared two high-profile figures' private contact information
Jun 20, 2018
Twitter temporarily locked several journalists who work for Splinter News out of their accounts on Wednesday and limited others' Twitter use, after the outlet published a cell phone number belonging to President Donald Trump's senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller.
In an brief article about Miller's influence on the Trump administration's decision to implement a "zero tolerance" immigration policy which has resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their families, Splinter noted that Miller has "been rather unavailable for direct feedback from the public" while other administration officials have publicly defended the practice.
"We all know that Donald Trump is a great fan of facilitating direct feedback from the public, because he personally published the cell phone numbers of both his Republican primary opponent Lindsey Graham and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos," read the article, whose author remained anonymous. "So it is fair to assume he would support the public's right to call (or text) Stephen Miller."
Although the phone number was published on Splinter's website and not on Twitter, the social media platform swiftly locked the accounts of several staffers at Splinter as well as its parent company, Gizmodo Media Group, after they tweeted links to the article, and sent them messages indicating that they had breached Twitter's terms of service.
As Splinter noted, the president shared personal contact information for Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) at a campaign rally in 2015, and for news anchor Jorge Ramos after he requested an interview with Trump following Univision's decision to cut ties with Trump's organization due to his remarks about Mexican immigrants. Unlike those of Splinter, Trump's actions did not result in Twitter revoking the privileges of his highly controversial account.
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Twitter temporarily locked several journalists who work for Splinter News out of their accounts on Wednesday and limited others' Twitter use, after the outlet published a cell phone number belonging to President Donald Trump's senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller.
In an brief article about Miller's influence on the Trump administration's decision to implement a "zero tolerance" immigration policy which has resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their families, Splinter noted that Miller has "been rather unavailable for direct feedback from the public" while other administration officials have publicly defended the practice.
"We all know that Donald Trump is a great fan of facilitating direct feedback from the public, because he personally published the cell phone numbers of both his Republican primary opponent Lindsey Graham and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos," read the article, whose author remained anonymous. "So it is fair to assume he would support the public's right to call (or text) Stephen Miller."
Although the phone number was published on Splinter's website and not on Twitter, the social media platform swiftly locked the accounts of several staffers at Splinter as well as its parent company, Gizmodo Media Group, after they tweeted links to the article, and sent them messages indicating that they had breached Twitter's terms of service.
As Splinter noted, the president shared personal contact information for Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) at a campaign rally in 2015, and for news anchor Jorge Ramos after he requested an interview with Trump following Univision's decision to cut ties with Trump's organization due to his remarks about Mexican immigrants. Unlike those of Splinter, Trump's actions did not result in Twitter revoking the privileges of his highly controversial account.
Twitter temporarily locked several journalists who work for Splinter News out of their accounts on Wednesday and limited others' Twitter use, after the outlet published a cell phone number belonging to President Donald Trump's senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller.
In an brief article about Miller's influence on the Trump administration's decision to implement a "zero tolerance" immigration policy which has resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their families, Splinter noted that Miller has "been rather unavailable for direct feedback from the public" while other administration officials have publicly defended the practice.
"We all know that Donald Trump is a great fan of facilitating direct feedback from the public, because he personally published the cell phone numbers of both his Republican primary opponent Lindsey Graham and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos," read the article, whose author remained anonymous. "So it is fair to assume he would support the public's right to call (or text) Stephen Miller."
Although the phone number was published on Splinter's website and not on Twitter, the social media platform swiftly locked the accounts of several staffers at Splinter as well as its parent company, Gizmodo Media Group, after they tweeted links to the article, and sent them messages indicating that they had breached Twitter's terms of service.
As Splinter noted, the president shared personal contact information for Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) at a campaign rally in 2015, and for news anchor Jorge Ramos after he requested an interview with Trump following Univision's decision to cut ties with Trump's organization due to his remarks about Mexican immigrants. Unlike those of Splinter, Trump's actions did not result in Twitter revoking the privileges of his highly controversial account.
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