Twitter, in Punishing a Controversial User, Stokes Freedom of Speech Debate

Twitter has ignited a debate over freedom of speech on the Internet by stripping the verification status of a controversial journalist for violating the social media site’s rules of conduct.

Twitter removed the blue check mark on the account of Milo Yiannopoulos, who writes for Breitbart News, a conservative media outlet. He posted a letter on his account that he received from the company, saying that he lost his verified badge “due to recent violations of the Twitter Rules.” Yiannopoulos denied he has done anything wrong and slammed Twitter for its opaque decision. “They don’t like me and want to give me a slap on the wrist,” Yiannopoulos said