“Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of ‘misgendering.’”
Update: The film was later made available to all users, though it was not placed next to advertising.
On the eve of the launch of Matt Walsh's iconic documentary What is a Woman? on Twitter, Daily Wire claims the social media giant cancelled the free premiere over "two instances of 'misgendering.'"
Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing took to Twitter to make his case, saying, "Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of 'misgendering.' I’m not kidding. Here's what happened."
https://twitter.com/JeremyDBoreing/status/1664255321630552065?s=20
He went on to explain that as the the one-year anniversary of What is a Woman? was coming up, and June 1 would be the first day of Pride Month, Daily Wire had decided to make the film free to stream for 24 hours on Twitter.
Twitter was set to host the film on a special event page and to promote the film, inviting all users of the platform to watch it and hear for themselves how absurd it is that the question even needs to be asked in 2023.
Daily Wire's Boreing said, "Accepted and signed an agreement. After we signed, Twitter asked to see the film to better understand what parts may 'trigger' users, so they could better prepare their response. They said they were still all hands on deck for launch, so we sent them a screener."
However, after reviewing the film, Twitter said that the deal was off, saying that the package was no longer on the table and that, as opposed to amplifying the film, Twitter would "actually limit the reach of the film and label it as 'hateful conduct' because of 'misgendering.'"
Filmmaker Matt Walsh said that the screening would still happen on Twitter, but that it wouldn't be part of an amplification package, as was previously planned. He shared one of the scenes from the film that was apparently at issue, and said: "We will still stream the movie here tonight in its entirety at 8 ET. Twitter has the next 12 hours to decide whether they want to be a true free speech platform or not."
https://twitter.com/mattwalshblog/status/1664263579216773120?s=46&t=bhRsCFycz_nOQT66mhEqCA
So what are these instances of misgendering? Boreing explained that in one case in the film, a father referred to his daughter as "her," and "a store owner uses the 'wrong' pronoun in a confrontation with a trans person." The daughter identifies as trans.
Boreing pointed out that after Elon Musk took over Twitter in the fall of 2022, "misgendering" was removed as an offense from their terms, but apparently Twitter told Boreing that even if it's not explicitly stated, it's still considered "abuse and harassment." Daily Wire refused to make changes to the film to comply, Boreing stated.
"When we asked how much they would limit the visibility if we posted the film anyway, Twitter replied that our own followers would not be able to see it in their feeds. This, they said, is part of their 'speech not reach' policy," he said.
Daily Wire recently brought their whole spate of shows to the platform, anticipating that it would be basically the only platform friendly to conservatives as the other social media sites have made their preference for leftists known.
"I hope @elonmusk will reconsider this awful policy," Boreing said. "If we can't debate these issues on Twitter, where can we debate them? If conservatives aren't welcome on Twitter, where are they welcome? It’s unlikely another centibillionaire will come along to offer an alternative."
Walsh's What is a Woman? caused a stir when it launched last year as it showed the absolute absurdity of a culture that can't identify one of the two sexes, and claims that an individual can change sex simply by wishing it to be so.
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
