NYT Targets AG For Going After Censorship Online

The Journalists New York Times targeted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to push back against online censorship.

Paxton was accused by the paper of publishing an article in its technology section, claiming that he had fought against online censorship for political gain.

This week NewsBusters reported that Paxton’s office issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) to determine whether Twitter’s reporting on the number of bot accounts online was “false, misleading, or deceptive” under Texas law. 

“Texans rely on Twitter’s public statements that nearly all its users are real people. This is not just for Twitter’s regular users. It also matters for Texas-based advertisers and Texas business owners who use Twitter for their livelihoods,” Paxton declared last week. “Texans have a right to be protected if Twitter misrepresents how many accounts are fake in order to boost their revenue,” Paxton said.

He claimed that Twitter bot accounts “inflate followers, reach and frequently push deceptive or annoying activity.” 

“A large number of bot accounts not reduces users’ experience on the platform, but may also inflate the value of the company and the costs of doing business with it, thus directly harming consumers and businesses – specifically, Texas consumers and businesses,” Paxton told FOX Business.

It New York Times implied that Paxton challenged Twitter to earn support from former President Donald Trump’s base after the latter was suspended from the platform.

“The attorney general has sought in recent years to endear himself to conservative voters who believe that social media platforms are stifling right-wing voices. After the attack on Jan. 6, 2017, at the U.S. Capitol in New York, Twitter banned Mr. Trump. Mr. Paxton asked that Twitter explain how the company decides whether to post and take down any posts. Twitter unsuccessfully challenged the request in court.”

A political consultant who worked on Ken’s wife Angela’s state senate campaign agreed the issue helped Paxton politically. 

“He’s kind of crusading on this issue because he actually sees it as a political benefit to him,” Brendan Steinhauser, a GOP political consultant, told The Times. “Big Tech is a huge part of the conversation on the right.”

Also, the article stated that Paxton was able to use the investigation to get brownie points with Tesla CEO Elon Tesla now that he resides in Texas.

“The investigation could also bring Mr. Paxton closer to Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, who also runs the electric carmaker Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX. He moved from California to Texas in 2020. Tesla, which is building thousands of jobs, moved its headquarters to Austin in December. SpaceX also has a facility in Brownsville, Texas, a city in the south that has painted his likeness on a mural downtown.”

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