Twitter Censoring Film Misgendering Transgender People Angers Conservatives

Twitter on Thursday was accused of censoring a film created by The Daily Wire, saying that it included the "misgendering" of a transgender person. But Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded that the censorship was a "mistake."

Jeremy Boreing, the co-founder and co-CEO of The Daily Wire, a right-leaning news site, shared a Twitter thread explaining that the social media platform canceled a deal to air the What is a Woman? film, created by Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire, "because of two instances of 'misgendering.'"

The thread comes one year after What is a Woman? was released by The Daily Wire and Boreing said that they wanted to "celebrate the occasion" by airing the film on Twitter so fans can watch for free. Over the past several months, many conservatives have called for boycotts of numerous brands, including Bud Light and Target, for LGBTQ+ items sold for 2023 Pride Month, which began on June 1.

Bud Light's partnership with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney sparked a wave of criticism, and many conservatives called on people to purchase other brands.

In his thread, Boreing explained that Twitter initially agreed to air the film on the platform with "enthusiasm." That was before it viewed the film.

"After reviewing the film, though, Twitter let us know that not only could we no longer purchase the package they offered, they would no longer provide us any support and would actually limit the reach of the film and label it as 'hateful conduct' because of 'misgendering,'" Boreing wrote.

"Specifically: In the film, a father refers to his 14-year-old daughter as 'her,' and a store owner uses the 'wrong' pronoun in a confrontation with a trans person."

Musk responded to Boreing's thread and said the censorship of the film was a "mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed."

"Whether or not you agree with using someone's preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws," Musk wrote. "I should note that I do personally use someone's preferred pronouns, just as I use someone's preferred name, simply from the standpoint of good manners. However, for the same reason, I object to rude behavior, ostracism or threats of violence if the wrong pronoun or name is used."

In another tweet, Boreing said that The Daily Wire clarified to Twitter that "misgendering" was removed from the social media platform's policy, but Twitter said that "they still consider 'misgendering' abuse and harassment."

Boreing also called on Musk to "reconsider" the policy of censoring the film and noted that The Daily Wire plans to air it on Twitter on Thursday night despite the warning.

Newsweek was directed to Boreing's Twitter thread after reaching out to The Daily Wire via email for comment.

Prior to Musk's response, a number of conservative commentators and members of The Daily Wire spoke about against Twitter.

"This behavior by Twitter corporate directly opposes @elonmusk's commitment to free speech, and I sincerely hope he does something about it," Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus of The Daily Wire, wrote in a tweet.

Ryan Fournier, founder of Students4Trump, said: "Twitter told The Daily Wire that they'd limit the reach of their film 'What is a Woman?' because of 'misgendering.' Daily Wire initially had a deal with Twitter to stream it tonight... until Twitter watched it. I thought this place was going to be a bastion for free speech?"