Richard Spencer Back on Twitter — Ban Had Nothing To Do With Hate Speech

By Dave Goldiner December 12, 2016

Richard Spencer, the white supremacist leader of the so-called ‘alt-right,’ is Tweeting again — after Twitter reinstated his personal account.

I’m back. pic.twitter.com/ngfq4aHWtc

— Richard ? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) December 11, 2016

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

It turns out the social media platform didn’t bounce Spencer, the self-described ‘Karl Marx of the alt-right,’ for spewing hatred against Jews and others and promoting a white state in America.

Actually it took action against him for the more prosaic infraction of having too many overlapping accounts.

Spencer vowed to try to get his other accounts, including @radix and @altright back up soon too. But that might be a long shot given Twitter’s code of conduct prohibiting individuals from having multiple accounts.

It wasn’t clear why Spencer was deemed to have not violated Twitter’s ban on hate speech. Several prominent alt-right leaders have been banned in recent weeks as neo-Nazis and white supremacist take on a bigger public role after the election of President-elect. Trump.

Spencer, who has earned a reputation as a skilled orator, made headlines last week when he silenced a Texas rabbi by comparing his brand of white supremacy to Zionism.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO