Rep Billy Long, a Republican from Missouri, discussed a demonstration by activist Laura Loomer at Wednesday’s hearing on Twitter’s policies by pretending to run a live auction.
C-SPAN.
Chaos broke out for a couple of minutes throughout Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s statement Wednesday in the House Energy and Commerce Committee when a female in the gallery started screaming.
As Dorsey was informingRep Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, that Twitter would not deliberately compose predisposition into the business’s algorithms for flagging and obstructing accounts, a female screamed her argument.
“Stop the bias, Jack Dorsey! Please help us, President Donald Trump!” she stated.
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Audience protester ignites spontaneous auctioneering…
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The woman appeared to be Laura Loomer, an activist who describes herself as a former “operative” of Project Veritas, a group that has secretly filmed tech workers, reporters and nonprofit workers as part of projects focused on alleged bias in tech and journalism. It has used similar techniques in projects on the practices of abortion providers.
Shortly afterward, Loomer took to Twitter to take credit for the interruption. “I did it for the millions of Conservatives who are being silenced by Big tech on social media,” she tweeted.
THIS IS FOR YOU, THE SILENT MAJORITY! I did it for the millions of Conservatives who are being silenced by Big tech on social media for being Conservative and supporting @realDonaldTrump.
I did it for you America. We are nothing without our free speech. We must protect it! 🇺🇸 https://t.co/nqHY0klZRu
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 5, 2018
Loomer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The protest came amid Republicans criticism of Twitter and Facebook for perceived bias against conservative groups. Conservative lawmakers asked Dorsey multiple times about a Twitter algorithm that made some conservative representatives harder to find in the social media company’s search results. Dorsey said the flaw affected 600,000 accounts and was unintentional, and added that Twitter has changed the algorithm.
Activist Laura Loomer shouts during Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s testimony Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
C-SPAN
The committee’s chair, Rep. Greg Walden, ordered Loomer to sit down or be removed from the room. Loomer continued, and Rep. Billy Long began talking over her shouts with the calls of an auctioneer.
The faux auction lasted a full 40 seconds and appeared to reach a total price of $550. It wasn’t clear what Long was pretending to sell.Â
As Loomer was led from the room, Long concluded his auctioneering by saying, “Five and a quarter, five and a half, I yield back.”
Laughter and applause erupted in the room.
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