Roger Waters has called out “Big Brother” Twitter for suspending a popular account that supports WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Unity4J account’s owners were given no reason for the removal.
“Twitter, you are Big Brother, now we know it for sure, we always suspected it,” Waters said in a video posted to Twitter. “You are an arm of the thought police. You are an arm of the forces of oppression. You wish to suppress freedom of speech, journalism, freedom of anything probably.”
The Unity4J account shares information and support for Assange, and promoted online vigils that rallied support for the jailed WikiLeaks founder, who currently faces possible extradition to the US. The account has over 10,000 followers and has been suspended since Thursday.
Waters railed against the company for suspending Unity4J which he said supports “the great hero of freedom of the press and freedom of any kind who has been so disgustingly & roundly turned upon by the United States, the United Kingdom & all the other purveyors of imperialism.”
The former Pink Floyd musician said he felt compelled to respond to the suspension as “our world is being eroded by these f-ing arseholes, particularly Big Brother Twitter.”
He said he would likely be silenced for his statement. “Ooh Roger Waters, he actually believes in freedom of speech, he believes that human beings should be allowed to communicate with each other. Cut him off,” he said. “Go ahead, motherf**kers!”
Assange supporters, including Julian’s mother Christine, reacted to the suspension by demanding Twitter and founder Jack Dorsey reinstate the account. Other Assange-supporting accounts have also received suspensions.
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