A tweet posted on Monday by a verified Twitter user about running over a 7-year-old Trump supporter has garnered over 19,000 “retweets” and nearly 100,000 “likes.” The tweet has yet to be removed by the social media platform.
Internet comedian and Awful Records illustrator Zachary “Zack” Fox tweeted a photo-shopped image of a pro-Trump child on a road as someone is about to run him over. The child photo-shopped into the image is 7-year-old Benton Stevens from Texas, who recently made national news after raising $22,000 for a border wall with his lemonade and hot chocolate stands.
The tweet joking about murdering a 7-year-old child — which appears to be very popular among #Resistance Twitter users — has yet to be taken down by Twitter, despite the social media platform seeming to take action rather quickly when it comes to other types of accounts.
While Fox’s tweet joking about running over a 7-year-old child for wanting secured borders remains on the social media platform, it has been noted that other accounts seem to be routinely suspended after engaging in behavior many would deem far less abusive, such as operating lighthearted parody accounts mocking public servants, or creating humorous Internet memes.
Last month, actor James Woods said that he would not be returning to Twitter “until free speech is allowed.” Woods was locked out of his account after posting a paraphrased Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, which read, “‘If you try to kill the King, you best not miss,'” accompanied by the hashtag “#HangThemAll.”
“Why is it that @Twitter seemingly never “mistakenly” suspends a high-profile Democrat? Why is it always conservatives” inquired Donald Trump Jr. in a tweet last month.
While some of these instances have been labeled “mistakes,” followed by the restoration of those accounts in question, the implication that suspension allegedly occurred due to algorithm problems doesn’t bode well with many, who have noted that these automated “accidents” only seem to target conservative users.
Take, for example, the users who remain active and verified on Twitter after threatening and harassing Covington Catholic High School students, who were targeted after a short video clip of them went viral earlier this year.
“LOCK THE KIDS IN THE SCHOOL AND BURN THAT B*TCH TO THE GROUND,” tweeted verified account @HouseShoes of the students in January, “you gotta punch that shit off one of those bitches faces first.” The tweets have since been deleted, but the account remains active and verified, along with other users who posted similar content.
Accordingly, Fox does not appear at all worried about the possibility that his offending tweet could jeopardize the status of his account. He has since “pinned” his tweet to the top of his page and posted follow-up tweets, laughing over “Republicans” taking offense to his ominous joke.
“I’m honestly flattered,” tweeted Fox, who remains active and verified on the social media platform.
Twitter did not respond to a Breitbart News request for comment.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.