The Arizona House has launched an investigation into the censorship requests by Katie Hobbs, including those revealed by Arizona Capitol Oversight, and those made by other state government officials.
House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) created the panel late last week, enlisting Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) to serve as its chair. In what Kolodin called “an interesting coincidence,” the panel was created the same day Arizona Capitol Oversight released an 8 page report revealing several of Hobbs’ censorship requests to Facebook and Twitter, including one against a member of the Arizona Legislature.
Among Hobbs’ censorship requests is an email from November 2020 that asks Twitter to censor critics of a 2017 tweet in which Hobbs called Trump’s core voters part of a “neo-nazi” movement. Hobbs used her government email address to complain, “[t]he alt-right got a hold of a 3-year old tweet on my account and have been sending harassing, abusive, and threatening tweets and direct messages” when Twitter reportedly requested clarification.
In another request made that month, Hobbs asked Facebook to censor then-Representative Kelly Townsend, who had just been elected to the Arizona Senate. The request was ultimately denied by Facebook, reported Arizona Capitol Insights, with the platform determining that Townsend’s post was “not against our Community Guidelines.”
Arizona Capitol Insights founder Brian Anderson provided analysis on X, formerly Twitter, writing that Hobbs’ “censorship campaign” lasted two years, including through her gubernatorial campaign. Anderson previously handled press and research for former Republican Governor Doug Ducey, according to The Arizona Daily Star.
🚨 Today Arizona Capitol Oversight is releasing exclusive emails from @KatieHobbs' office
— Brian Anderson (@AZBrianAnderson) August 10, 2023
Hobbs' govt staff censored her political opponents while she campaigned #AZGov, including @AZGOP in August 2022 for saying she didn't deserve a promotion ->https://t.co/xDkKkFuIOS (1/4) pic.twitter.com/Ir1CRoElTd
