{"id":2022858,"date":"2023-09-05T22:27:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T02:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/az-state-house-set-to-probe-politician-big-tech-censorship-collusion-amid-hobbs-twitter-emails-scandal\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T22:30:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T02:30:12","slug":"az-state-house-set-to-probe-politician-big-tech-censorship-collusion-amid-hobbs-twitter-emails-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/az-state-house-set-to-probe-politician-big-tech-censorship-collusion-amid-hobbs-twitter-emails-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"AZ State House to Investigate Politician-Big Tech Censorship Collusion in Hobbs&#8217; Twitter Emails Scandal."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Faz-state-house-set-to-probe-politician-big-tech-censorship-collusion-amid-hobbs-twitter-emails-scandal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2022858&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Arizona State House Launches Probe into Allegations of Collusion Between\u2062 Gov. Katie \u200dHobbs and Social Media Giant X<\/h2>\n<p>The Arizona state House is set to launch a probe\u200c into allegations \u2064of collusion \u200dbetween \u200dDemocratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/facebook-bans-gop-account-allows-inflammatory-dnc-ads\/\" title=\"Facebook bans GOP account, allows inflammatory DNC ads\">social media giant<\/a> X, formerly known as Twitter, amid a controversy surrounding her attempts to censor critics.<\/p>\n<p>This \u2063investigation\u200b comes on the heels of the release of\u2062 emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/republican-statewide-official-launches-new-hotline-katie-hobbs-going-absolutely-hate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hobbs<\/a>, which have raised questions\u2063 about her impartiality and the use\u200d of government resources for political purposes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFighting for the First Amendment\u200b is an American\u2019s highest\u2064 calling. With this new committee, I am excited to \u2062have \u200dthe\u200c opportunity to do so on behalf of the people of\u200c Arizona,\u201d state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, who will chair the committee, said\u2062 in a statement, \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/justthenews.com\/nation\/states\/center-square\/arizona-gop-investigating-social-media-censorship-request-politicians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Just the News<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<h3>Leading Experts and \u200cInaugural Session<\/h3>\n<p>State Rep. Neal Carter,\u200d a San Tan Valley Republican, will serve as a committee \u200dmember, while \u200cDemocratic participation has not yet been announced. The inaugural session, set for Sept. 5 at the state capitol, will feature insights from \u201cleading experts\u201d on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dominion-sues-fox-news-for-1-6-billion-over-2020-election-coverage\/\" title=\"Dominion Sues Fox News For .6 Billion Over 2020 Election Coverage\">free speech law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2063 controversy began when it \u200bwas \u200brevealed that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/katie-hobbs-played-personal-part-censoring-election-information-receipt-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hobbs<\/a>, during her tenure\u200d as a member of the state legislature\u200b in\u200b August 2017, had posted a tweet comparing supporters of then-President Donald Trump to Nazis, \u200baccording\u2063 to <a href=\"https:\/\/azcapitol.org\/2023\/08\/10\/how-katie-hobbs-abused-government-resources-to-censor-her-political-opponents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arizona Capitol Oversight<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> has made it abundantly clear he\u2019s \u2063more interested in pandering to his\u2062 neo-nazi base than \u200bbeing <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS?\">@POTUS<\/a> \u2062 for all Americans.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2064 Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katiehobbs\/status\/897591847014473729?\">August 15, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Critics questioned Hobbs\u2019s ability to maintain impartiality in her\u2062 role as Arizona\u2019s Secretary of State, a position \u2064she assumed in\u200d 2019 after winning the election in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Arizona Capitol Oversight, a government transparency and accountability website, in its explosive\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/azcapitol.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/How-Katie-Hobbs-Abused-Government-Resources-To-Censor-Her-Political-Opponents.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">8-page report<\/a>, detailed how Hobbs \u2063had\u200b engaged in \u201can extensive and sustained campaign\u201d to censor her \u2062critics, including the Arizona <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-trump-ally-kari-lake-wins-gop-primary-arizona-governor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Republican Party<\/a> and a state lawmaker responsible for oversight of her department.<\/p>\n<p>According to the ACO report, many of the takedown requests made by Hobbs\u2019s office were\u2062 unrelated to public safety, governance, or \u200delection administration. Instead, they reportedly\u200c aimed to stifle\u2063 criticism and bolster her political image \u2062in preparation for her\u200d gubernatorial campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d most damning evidence presented in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boris-johnson-takes-responsibility-for-lockdown-parties-but-will-not-step-down-over-them\/\" title=\"Boris Johnson Takes Responsibility for Lockdown Parties But Will Not Step Down Over Them\">report included emails<\/a> in which Hobbs, using her government email address, requested that Twitter censor her\u2062 critics.<\/p>\n<p>In one email from November 2020, Hobbs \u200dasked Twitter to take action against her \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/5-left-wing-lies-twitter-refuses-fact-check\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alt-right<\/a>\u201d critics, prompting Twitter to request more information and\u200b specific examples.<\/p>\n<p>In\u200c response, \u2062Hobbs expressed frustration, stating, \u201cI am not sure I can provide the information\u200b you \u200bare asking for because\u2063 I reported and then blocked \u200cmultiple\u2062 users at \u2062the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She accused \u201cthe alt-right\u201d of having obtained a three-year-old tweet\u2062 from her account and\u2063 having sent \u201charassing, abusive, and threatening tweets and \u200bdirect messages for the last 2\u2064 days.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">  TODAY <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katiehobbs?\">@katiehobbs<\/a> &#038; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stephen_richer?\">@Stephen_Richer<\/a> worked \u2063with the Federal Government &#038; Big Tech to \u2063censor free speech &#038; interfere with our midterm elections.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AZHouseGOP?\">@AZHouseGOP<\/a> Ad Hoc \u2064Committee On Oversight, Accountability &#038; Big \u2064Tech are\u200c discussing solutions to\u2063 ensure it NEVER happens again. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HBXuQFiegP\">pic.twitter.com\/HBXuQFiegP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kari Lake (@KariLake)\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KariLake\/status\/1699075555944260092?\">September 5, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>ACO managed to identify the <a href=\"https:\/\/azcapitol.org\/2023\/08\/10\/how-katie-hobbs-abused-government-resources-to-censor-her-political-opponents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cthree-year-old tweet\u201d<\/a> \u2063 Hobbs mentioned in her email to Twitter through a\u200b mistake by her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/az-state-house-set-to-probe-politician-big-tech-censorship-collusion-amid-hobbs-twitter-emails-scandal\/\" title=\"AZ State House to Investigate Politician-Big Tech Censorship Collusion in Hobbs' Twitter Emails Scandal.\">long-time communications director<\/a>, Murphy Hebert.<\/p>\n<p>Hebert mistakenly requested that Facebook delete Hobbs\u2019s 2017 tweet, which\u2063 contained the controversial \u200bcomparison to \u200dneo-Nazis.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, it\u2064 was revealed that Hobbs\u2019s team used an official government \u200bemail address in August 2022, during her gubernatorial campaign, to request the censorship of a tweet from the Arizona GOP that criticized her job performance, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/tennesseestar.com\/news\/emails-reveal-katie-hobbs-while-secretary-of-state-pressured-twitter-and-facebook-to-censor-her-gop-opponents\/rachel-alexander\/2023\/08\/12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The \u2064Tennessee Star<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hobbs \u200dalso attempted to suppress \u200bcriticism \u2063related to the use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/az-audit-revelation-wrong-paper-used-ballots-confirm-sharpiegate-according-az-sen-president\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sharpie<\/a> brand markers on ballots during the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>Her\u2062 staff contacted the National Association of Secretaries of State to request a broader censorship\u200c tool from\u200d Facebook and Twitter to address the Sharpie-related posts, which NASS suggested\u200b should be reported to the Center for Internet Security.<\/p>\n<p>Facebook complied by making the hashtag <a href=\"https:\/\/azcapitol.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/How-Katie-Hobbs-Abused-Government-Resources-To-Censor-Her-Political-Opponents.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cunclickable\u201d<\/a> and adding warning labels to related content, according to ACO\u2019s report.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Hobbs\u2019s team reported posts\u200c critical of her to Facebook\u2019s misinformation team, although Facebook\u2063 determined that these posts did not violate its Community Guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>Hobbs, who\u2064 has denied any wrongdoing, recently dismissed the allegations during an interview \u2064with local radio station <a href=\"https:\/\/azcapitol.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2023.08.13-KJZZ-Katie-Hobbs.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KJZZ<\/a>, describing them as a \u201csideshow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u200c post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/az-state-house-set-probe-politician-big-tech-censorship-collusion-amid-hobbs-twitter-emails-scandal\/\">AZ State House Set to Probe Politician-Big Tech Censorship Collusion Amid Hobbs&#8217; Twitter Emails Scandal<\/a> \u200c appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Arizona state House will investigate claims of collusion between Gov. Katie Hobbs and social media giant X (formerly Twitter). The probe follows controversy over her alleged censorship of critics. Recently released emails from Hobbs have sparked inquiries, adding to the ongoing scrutiny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2358,"featured_media":2022859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2358"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2022858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2022858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2022858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2022858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}