Conservative commentator Meghan McCain faced backlash on X (formerly Twitter) for limiting who could reply to her tweets shortly after praising what she described as the Trump era of “radical free speech” and “anti-censorship.” Users on the platform quickly called out what they viewed as hypocrisy.
Musician Rourke wrote, “So much for ‘radically free speech.’ It took only four minutes to show ur hypocrisy.” Another user, @emisback717, commented, “Meghan McCain: YAY RADICAL FREE SPEECH! Also Meghan McCain: shuts off replies.” Similarly, @daynahmk added, “Meghan McCain is such a big proponent of free speech, then why does she ONLY let blue check accounts post replies to her? She’s a fraud.”
The controversy began Tuesday afternoon after McCain tweeted about limiting replies to verified accounts. “I’ve decided to limit who can reply to my tweets to verified accounts because quite frankly too many of you are emotionally unstable and have been messaging me you’re mad my breast mass wasn’t cancerous because I criticized Meghan Markle’s cooking teaser. New year, new rules,” McCain wrote.
An hour earlier, following President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference in Palm Beach, McCain expressed enthusiasm for the incoming administration’s approach to free speech. “One of the things I am really going to enjoy about this new Trump era is it is actually, authentically going to be a time of radical free speech and anti-censorship. All the former gatekeepers and overlords of what can and cannot be said are finally neutered of their power,” she tweeted.
X is owned by Elon Musk, a Trump ally, and appointee to the Department of Government Efficiency. Earlier Tuesday, Trump praised Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg for announcing that Facebook would stop fact-checking posts, a decision seen as a concession to the incoming administration. Conservatives, including Trump, have long accused Facebook of censorship, despite its status as a private company.
“They have come a long way,” Trump said of Facebook during the news conference. When asked if Zuckerberg’s decision was in response to threats from the president-elect, Trump replied, “Probably,” according to The Hill.
Meta’s policy shift contrasts sharply with its actions four years ago when Facebook banned Trump following the January 6 Capitol riots. Although Trump was later reinstated, he also launched his own platform, TruthSocial.
McCain, who has previously criticized Trump for disparaging her late father, Sen. John McCain, now finds herself at the center of a heated debate over free speech and accountability on social media.