Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Mar 08, 2026

‘You couldn’t make it up if you tried’: Twitter censors at home, but calls access to platform a ‘human right’ in Nigeria

‘You couldn’t make it up if you tried’: Twitter censors at home, but calls access to platform a ‘human right’ in Nigeria

Twitter is very concerned about its recent blocking in Nigeria, calling the free and open internet an “essential human right.” Back in the US, commentators pointed out, Twitter doesn’t care as much about this “right.”

Nigeria’s government “indefinitely” banned Twitter on Friday, after the US tech giant temporarily suspended President Muhammadu Buhari for a tweet promising a crackdown on armed separatists. Telecoms networks in the West African nation began enforcing the ban on Saturday morning, according to multiple media reports.

“We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria,” the company stated on Saturday. “Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society.”

Twitter added that it would “work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world.”


However Twitter’s recent actions in the US reveal a corporation much less concerned with its users’ ability to “communicate with the world” – especially if those users challenge the Democrat-supporting, Silicon Valley orthodoxy. Twitter’s executives used to describe the platform as “the free speech wing of the free speech party,” but bans and suspensions are now a threat to users posting “misinformation” – to be understood as content that challenges the liberal media consensus, or harms the political goals of the Democratic Party.

Donald Trump, while still the sitting president of the US, found himself booted indefinitely from Twitter in January after his supporters rioted on Capitol Hill, and merely posting the ex-president’s statements can now incur deletions and suspensions.

With Twitter apparently happy to play censor at home, conservatives and opponents of Big Tech scoffed at the company’s professed commitment to openness in Nigeria. “Man,” former Republican Congressional candidate Joshua Foxworth tweeted, “you have to admire the sheer cognitive dissonance here.”




Nigeria isn’t the only country that’s been treated by Twitter to a sermon on openness and freedom in recent months. When Russian regulators slowed down traffic to the platform in March, in response to violations of Russian law, Twitter complained that Russia was attempting “to block and throttle online public conversation.”

Comments

AmericaF**kYeah 5 year ago
If I make the rules, then what I call 'free', 'right' or 'wrong' is correct (doesn't matter if it actually is 'free', 'right' or 'wrong'). US foreign policy follows the same logic. China manipulating Yuan valuation is 'wrong' and against the 'rules', US manipulating USD valuation is them looking after their interests, and therefore 'right'.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia Warns Iran While Expanding Diplomatic Efforts to Contain Widening Middle East War
Iran’s President Rejects U.S. Surrender Demand as Drone and Missile Strikes Hit Gulf States
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Drone Swarm Targeting Strategic Shaybah Oil Field
Pakistan Faces Growing Pressure to Balance Ties With Iran and Saudi Arabia as Regional War Intensifies
Middle East Conflict Tests Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision to Transform Saudi Arabia Into a Global Hub
Proposed U.S.–Saudi Nuclear Deal Could Ease Traditional Nonproliferation Requirements
Iran Claims Strike on U.S.-Linked Oil Tanker Near Saudi Waters as Maritime Tensions Escalate
Saudi Arabia Says Air Defences Destroyed 23 Drones and Three Missiles Amid Escalating Regional Conflict
Saudi Arabia Warns Iran Against ‘Miscalculation’ After Missile and Drone Attacks Across Gulf
Iranian Missiles Intercepted Across Gulf as Air Defences Activate in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain
U.S. Justice Department Pursues Criminal Cases Against Cuban Officials in New Legal Push
Abrupt Cancellation of U.S. Army Exercise Sparks Speculation Over Possible Middle East Deployment
Saudi Arabia Led OPEC Output Surge Ahead of Iran Strikes, Survey Finds
Cristiano Ronaldo Travels to Spain for Hamstring Treatment After Injury in Saudi Pro League Match
Saudi Aramco Reroutes Oil to Red Sea as Strait of Hormuz Disruptions Hit Gulf Exports
Saudi Arabia Presses Ahead With Economic Diversification Despite Fiscal and External Deficits
Middle East Conflict Puts Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Races at Risk
Iran Targets Israeli Diplomatic Site in Bahrain and US Air Base in Qatar as Regional Conflict Expands
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Three Ballistic Missiles Targeting Prince Sultan Air Base
Iran Launches Fresh Missile and Drone Attacks Across Middle East as Regional War Intensifies
Saudi Arabia Opens Direct Communication Channel With Iran in Bid to Prevent Wider Regional War
Saudi Arabia Maintains Strong Fiscal Position Despite Global Uncertainty, Finance Ministry Says
Saudi Arabia Considers Response After Iranian Drone Strike Hits Major Northern Oil Refinery
Saudi Carrier Flynas Plans Limited Flight Resumption to Dubai Amid Regional Tensions
Saudi Arabia and UAE Pledge Close Coordination to Secure Oil Supplies for Japan
Middle East Conflict Casts Doubt Over Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Races
Iran Rejects Claims of Attacks on Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and Oman
Saudi Arabia Condemns Iranian Strikes Targeting Türkiye and Azerbaijan
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Matches Despite Escalating Regional Conflict
Saudi Arabia Scrambles to Redirect Oil Exports as Gulf Storage Nears Capacity
U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Issues Emergency Security Alert After Drone Strike and Escalating Regional Threats
Iran Expresses Gratitude to Saudi Arabia for Closing Airspace During Escalating Conflict
Saudi Arabia Fears Iranian Strikes Could Target Senior Leaders as Regional War Escalates
Iran Says Its Strikes Target Only U.S. Military Assets and Denies Attacking Saudi Arabia
Drone Strike Hits U.S. Embassy in Riyadh as Middle East Conflict Escalates
Tom Brady’s Saudi Flag Football Event May Shift to U.S. as Middle East Conflict Disrupts Plans
Iran War Strikes Saudi Arabia at a Critical Moment for Its Economic Transformation
Saudi Cabinet Declares Kingdom Will Take All Necessary Measures to Defend National Security
United States Urges Citizens to Leave Fourteen Middle Eastern Countries as Iran War Escalates
Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura Refinery Targeted Again in Second Drone Attack Within Two Days
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Fixtures Despite Rising Middle East Conflict
Trump Pursues Major Civil Nuclear Agreement With Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Turmoil
Mass Drone Attacks Strike Gulf States as Iran Conflict Spreads Across Region
No Verified Confirmation of Ronaldo Departure Linked to Iran Conflict or AFC Suspension
No Verified Evidence of Israeli Intelligence Arrests in Qatar or Saudi Arabia
Drone Attack Forces Temporary Shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s Largest Oil Refinery
Israel Intensifies Air Campaign in Tehran as Iran Expands Regional Retaliation
Iranian Strikes Escalate Middle East Conflict, Drawing Saudi Arabia Closer to Wider War
No Verified Confirmation of Drone Strike on King Fahd Causeway Amid Regional Tensions
No Verified Evidence Saudi Crown Prince Is Seeking to Weaken Israel Amid Regional Tensions
×