London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jan 30, 2026

Twitter calls for 'open internet,' 'access to information' during election ... in Uganda

Twitter calls for 'open internet,' 'access to information' during election ... in Uganda

Twitter is now advocating for free expression and sharing of information ... in Uganda, open internet only to the users they allow to expose their stand point, not to the other side...


Amid reports that the East African nation's government has shut down access to social media ahead of scheduled elections Thursday, Twitter's public policy account issued a stern warning Tuesday.

"Ahead of the Ugandan election, we're hearing reports that Internet service providers are being ordered to block social media and messaging apps," it began. "We strongly condemn internet shutdowns – they are hugely harmful, violate basic human rights and the principles of the #OpenInternet."


According to the thread, Twitter had suspended accounts of "state-backed actors" who were "targeting the election in Uganda," though the company did not relate specifics.

"Access to information and freedom of expression, including the public conversation on Twitter, is never more important than during democratic processes, particularly elections," Twitter declared.


Many found Twitter's advocacy jarring after the social media giant selectively suppressed tweets that were deemed to contain "misinformation" about the coronavirus, blocked the New York Post's main account after the newspaper published its bombshell report on Hunter Biden during the election campaign, and banned President Trump from its platform.

"The gall, my Lord," New York Post op-ed editor Sohrab Ahmari reacted. "Pre-election freedom of information for Ugandans. But not for readers of America's oldest daily newspaper, The New York Post."

"You banned the sharing of accurate journalism that was negative for your preferred candidate during the 2020 election, an egregious tampering with freedom of expression and the public conversation in the midst of an important democratic process," write The Federalist senior editor and Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway, alluding to the Hunter Biden story.

"Twitter censored the world’s oldest newspaper from posting a story on the leading candidate for president & stopped us from sharing it. Then banned & sitting US president + allied accounts — after the party in charge asked them to," radio host Jason Rantz tweeted.

"They think you're stupid," podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey said.

"Didn’t @jack literally react to the Parler ban with a [heart] emoji?" Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer asked, referring to a tweet from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.






Last week, Twitter concluded that allowing Trump to return to Twitter risked "further incitement of violence."

Highlighting two relatively tame tweets from the president, one of which stated he would not attend Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the company argued that they had to be viewed in a wider context.

"These two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks," the company said. "After assessing the language in these Tweets against our Glorification of Violence policy, we have determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
White House: Trump warns Canada of 100% tariff if Carney finalizes China trade deal
PLA opens CMC probe of Zhang Youxia, Liu Zhenli over Xi authority and discipline violations
ICE and DHS immigration raids in Minneapolis: the use-of-force accountability crisis in mass deportation enforcement
UK’s Starmer and Trump Agree on Urgent Need to Bolster Arctic Security
Starmer Breaks Diplomatic Restraint With Firm Rebuke of Trump, Seizing Chance to Advocate for Europe
UK Finance Minister Reeves to Join Starmer on China Visit to Bolster Trade and Economic Ties
Prince Harry Says Sacrifices of NATO Forces in Afghanistan Deserve ‘Respect’ After Trump Remarks
Barron Trump Emerges as Key Remote Witness in UK Assault and Rape Trial
×