Twitter Allows Misinformation About ‘Locked’ Mailboxes to Go Viral

Paint coveres U.S. Postal Service mailbox on November 15, 2012 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty

Twitter has allowed the conspiracy theory that Post Office mailboxes are being “locked” to prevent Americans mailing in their ballots to spread unchecked on the platform, despite intensifying censorship of conservatives, including President Donald Trump, on dubious grounds of “misinformation” over the past few months.

Former NBA star and vocal leftist Rex Chapman posted a picture earlier today of locked USPS mailboxes in Burbank, California, insinuating that the boxes had been locked recently, calling it a “disgrace and immediate threat to American democracy.”

Chapman also tagged Sen. Mitch McConnell, (R-KY), urging the Senate Majority Leader to take action.

As conservative Twitter users quickly pointed out, the picture Chapman posted was from 2016, when USPS boxes in Burbank were locked due to a surge of thefts.

Despite being called out for his error, Chapman has yet to delete his tweet or issue a clarification. The original tweet has currently accumulated nearly 20,000 retweets and over 39,000 likes.

The locked USPS mailbox meme is spreading rapidly on the platform, with no efforts by Twitter to “fact check” them or halt their spread.

Twitter has recently censored Breitbart News, Fox News, Donald Trump Jr., and President Trump himself, as well as Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro over alleged misinformation, and also branded a factually valid Trump tweet about the dangers of voter fraud in mail-in voting with a “fact check” label.

Yet it has so far taken no action against a demonstrably false, conspiracy theory fueled panic about USPS mailboxes being locked, a claim that could cause panic and change voter behavior during an election year.

Breitbart News has reached out to Twitter for comment.

Are you an insider at Google, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, or any other tech company who wants to confidentially reveal wrongdoing or political bias at your company? Reach out to Allum Bokhari at his secure email address allumbokhari@protonmail.com

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. His book #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election is out in September. 

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