Less than six hours after posting it, Facebook and Twitter have censored Missouri Republican Senate candidate Eric Greitens’ campaign ad pledging violence against other Republicans.
“We are sick and tired of the Republicans in Name Only surrendering to Joe Biden & the radical Left. Order your RINO Hunting Permit today!” Greitens says in the ad.
“Today, we’re going RINO hunting,” he adds before cocking his rifle. “The RINO feeds on corruption and is marked by the stripes of cowardice.”
The video then shows Greitens and his paramilitary team using a battering ram to break down a house’s door and tossing in gas canisters before entering the house with guns in hand.
“Join the MAGA crew,” he says. “Get a RINO hunting permit. There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.”
In his original Twitter post featuring the video, Greitens wrote, “We are sick and tired of the Republicans in Name Only surrendering to Joe Biden & the radical Left. Order your RINO Hunting Permit today!”
Twitter flagged the video with a warning that said “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about abusive behavior. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
Twitter users can still access the video by clicking on the warning, but they can’t like, reply to, or retweet it.
Facebook, however, removed the video entirely for “violating our policies prohibiting violence and incitement.”
In response, Greitens wrote, “Facebook CENSORED our new ad calling out the weak RINOs. When I get to the US Senate, we are taking on Big Tech.”
Greitens and other Republican followers of former President Donald Trump have long accused social media of having an anti-conservative bias. However, a 2021 New York University study found that social media algorithms amplify right-wing voices far more widely than left-wing ones.
The politician’s message is especially disturbing considering the recent wave of gun violence in the United States and the fact that he’s threatening his followers to commit violence against any Republicans who aren’t sufficiently right-wing enough.
Greitens is the frontrunner for his seat. His ex-wife accused him of being violent, unstable, coercive, and threatening to commit suicide if she didn’t politically support him in public. He was also accused of tying a woman to an exercise machine, removing her clothes, and photographing her naked body for blackmail.