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Fans of Andy Ngo are trying to get Twitter to suspend them, too

They're quoting the tweet that got him booted.

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Claire Goforth

IRL

Posted on Nov 27, 2019   Updated on May 19, 2021, 9:54 pm CDT

Andy Ngo was suspended from Twitter on Monday over a tweet about transgender and Black people.

“The US is one of the safest countries for trans people. The murder rate of trans victims is actually lower than that for cis population,” Ngo wrote on Nov. 20. “Also, who is behind the murders? Mostly black men.”

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Andy Ngo/Twitter

Ngo’s response to Chelsea Clinton’s tweet about the “epidemic” of murders of trans people, most of whom are black women, got him booted from the site for 12 hours. According to screenshots circulating on the platform, Ngo was prohibited from tweeting, but his account remained live and he could use other features, such as direct messaging.

Twitter told Ngo that his tweet violated the rule against “hateful conduct,” which prohibits abusive or threatening speech directed towards people on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, etc. Twitter didn’t identify which part of Ngo’s tweet was the basis for the suspension. Twitter declined to comment on the matter.

Ngo told the Post Millennial, where he is editor-at-large, “Stating a verifiable empirical claim with no value judgment attached is determined to be ‘hateful conduct’ by Twitter. The platform most used by journalists to communicate and counter ‘fake news’ also actively punishes individuals for communicating truths when they are deemed politically inconvenient.”

To protest, Ngo’s fans are tweeting the statement that got him suspended along with the hashtag #AndyNgoChallenge.

https://twitter.com/JCCorbin2/status/1199679673426489344?s=20

https://twitter.com/DanSebrell/status/1199685910943666177?s=20

https://twitter.com/LoveCovfefe2020/status/1199698497529925632?s=20

Ngo’s friends in conservative media also jumped to his defense.

The Washington Times claimed that Ngo was suspended for “stating without rancor that trans murder rates were low.” The Federalist, a story from which was reportedly the basis for Ngo’s statement, complained that he was “suspended for reporting facts.” Many experts believe that both the number of trans people and the rate of violence against and murder of trans people are under- or misreported because of misidentification, dead-naming, and people being closeted.

Other of Ngo’s supporters responded in kind.

“Stating a verifiable empirical claim is hateful? Unbelievable. ALL HE DID WAS TWEET THE DATA,” Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson tweeted angrily.

Ngo has repeatedly been accused of supporting the far-right, as evidenced by undercover footage that showed him laughing while Patriot Prayer planned a violent attack in Portland, Oregon and his smear of a recently-deceased activist who was mean to him. He’s been heavily criticized for releasing misleading, selectively edited videos to prop up the far-right and slander the left.

Ngo also has a history of statements that some believe are intended to engender hate for marginalized groups and individuals.

https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1199104926552674305?s=20

Ngo appealed the suspension and was denied. According to the Post Millennial, his account remains in limbo until he logs in and complies with Twitter’s instructions.

This story has been updated. 

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*First Published: Nov 27, 2019, 11:10 am CST

Claire Goforth

Claire Goforth is an investigative reporter, lawyer, and the head of the Daily Dot's Hi-Res division. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Al Jazeera, the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, and more.

Claire Goforth