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'''Lynnette Hardaway''' and '''Rochelle Richardson''', popularly known together by their professional brand name '''Diamond and Silk''', are [[United States|American]] live-stream video bloggers and social media personalities. They are known for their pro-Trump commentary. They have a presence on the social media platforms [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], and [[Instagram]].
'''Lynnette Hardaway''' and '''Rochelle Richardson''', popularly known together by their professional brand name '''Diamond and Silk''', are [[United States|American]] live-stream video bloggers and social media personalities. They are known for their pro-Trump commentary. They have a presence on the social media platforms [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], and [[Instagram]].


They received considerable attention in April 2018 when they claimed to have been found "dangerous to the community" by [[Facebook]]. The incident was widely reported by outlets including [[CNN]], [[MSNBC]], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', ''[[The New York Daily News]]'', and ''[[Newsweek]]'', and was discussed during congressional hearings. Facebook founder [[Mark Zuckerberg]] said during his congressional testimony that he would look into the situation.
They received considerable attention in April 2018 when they claimed to have been censored by [[Facebook]]. The alleged censorship was reported by conservative media and was discussed during congressional hearings. There is no evidence that Facebook censored or blocked Diamond and Silk.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />


==Personal life and history==
==Personal life and history==

Revision as of 11:48, 2 May 2018

Lynnette "Diamond" Hardaway
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSocial media personality
Notable workThe Viewers View
Rochelle "Silk" Richardson
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSocial media personality
Notable workThe Viewers View

Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, popularly known together by their professional brand name Diamond and Silk, are American live-stream video bloggers and social media personalities. They are known for their pro-Trump commentary. They have a presence on the social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

They received considerable attention in April 2018 when they claimed to have been censored by Facebook. The alleged censorship was reported by conservative media and was discussed during congressional hearings. There is no evidence that Facebook censored or blocked Diamond and Silk.[1][2][3][4]

Personal life and history

Hardaway and Richardson are the daughters of husband and wife televangelists currently affiliated with Jericho Deliverance Temple church in Raeford, North Carolina.[5][6] During a 2016 interview with Newsweek, they were "reluctant" to give their ages but stated they are "old enough to vote".[7]

Formerly Democrats,[6] they came to wider prominence in 2015 as supporters of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump after posting a video criticizing former Fox News host Megyn Kelly for asking what they considered irrelevant questions during the first Republican presidential debate.[8] Their switch to the Republican Party occurred when they saw Trump announce his candidacy on television. According to Hardaway, "When he announced and we heard everything that he stood for, it was on and poppin’, and we’ve been on the Trump train ever since."[9]

Politics and appearances

Although officially unaffiliated with the Trump campaign, they urged support for Trump via social media efforts and rallies and traveled to three states for the campaign.[10][11] The duo first joined Donald Trump as the "Stump for Trump Girls" on stage at his Raleigh, North Carolina, rally on December 4, 2015.[12] They later warmed up the crowd at the Trump rally on January 2, 2016, in Biloxi, Mississippi.[13] They initiated a "Ditch and Switch" campaign to encourage Democrats to register as Republicans[6] and created a website explaining to voters which states had closed primaries and when the deadlines were for changing party affiliations.[11]

On November 2, 2016, Diamond and Silk appeared with Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on behalf of the Trump campaign.[14] They were reimbursed $1,274.94 for “field consulting” work by the Trump campaign.[15] However, the duo claimed they were reimbursed for air fare only during their April 30th 2018 appearance on Hannity.[citation needed]

They have appeared on several Fox News shows including Hannity, Fox News Sunday, Watters' World, and The Ingraham Angle,[16] as well as ABC's Nightline.[5] Hardaway is notably more talkative, while Richardson often just expresses agreement.[17]

Racial views

Following the controversial Unite the Right rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11 and 12, 2017, Hardaway and Richardson, appearing on Fox & Friends, were critical of both the far-right and far-left groups taking part in the event. Hardaway criticized Neo-Nazi groups and the Ku Klux Klan for "spewing hate and ... creating violence" declaring "all of them should be condemned and denounced. Period". In the same interview, she also said she does not "...  like Black Lives Matter and Antifa." They further noted that they feel statues of Civil War Confederate soldiers should be kept in museums.[18]

Hardaway and Richardson, in December 2017, expressed support for Omarosa Manigault Newman following her controversial firing as White House liaison and assistant, faulting the treatment of her by African Americans and the media generally: "What I find appalling, to my brothers and sisters [is] how you ... can laugh at, pick at, gloat at somebody because they either left the White House or you listened to a salacious story that Miss Piggy went around, running around telling everybody." In the same live-stream, they criticized Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts for saying, "Bye, Felicia" to Newman during a segment on the ABC show which aired on December 14, 2017.[19][20] Addressing Roberts' remarks, Hardaway said, "How is it that you want the community to come up and then when a sister is sitting at the table, 'Well, she didn’t represent us'? Are you crazy?"[19]

Reception by the African American community

Hardaway and Richardson have been criticized by some African Americans for their support of Trump and politically conservative viewpoints as well as their own criticism of Black personalities. In January 2018, the pair responded to remarks made by rapper Jay-Z on FOX News Channel's Fox & Friends, with Richardson stating, "... somebody can also tell Jay-Z to stop crying like a little baby and a little trick because Trump is your president". Hardaway followed up those comments by claiming the rapper is "out of touch". The pair's comments were in response to a January 27, 2018 interview with Jay-Z on CNN's The Van Jones Show. Hardaway indicated during the Fox & Friends interview that she believed Jay-Z should have credited Trump for the Black unemployment rate lowering during his presidency rather than criticizing him. According to the Atlanta Black Star, response from some in the African-American community to their comments has been generally negative.[21]

YouTube

Hardaway and Richardson have asserted that YouTube has discriminated against them[18] through "demonetization" of their channel because of their support for Trump. Conservative website Breitbart News reported on the claim in a 2017 article following news that the video hosts' automated system had started to screen uploads and advertisers.[22] The result, according to The Outline was a "stripping" of revenue from YouTube channel creators, including Diamond and Silk.[23]

Facebook

In April 2018, the pair announced on their Facebook page and through their Twitter account that they believe they have been victims of censorship by Facebook after receiving a communication from the social media website's policy team. According to Diamond and Silk, they had started questioning Facebook via phone calls, emails, and chat sessions as to their alleged "bias censorship and discrimination against D&S brand page" in September 2017. Both women have stated a reduction in reactions to their posts and videos since that time period and that followers no longer receive notifications about posts and videos. In a tweet and Facebook post, Hardaway and Richardson revealed a response from Facebook that allegedly stated the Diamond and Silk Facebook page content and brand was deemed to be "unsafe to the community." According to Hardaway and Richardson, the message sent from the Facebook policy team concluded with, "This decision is final and it is not appeal-able in any way." As of April 2018, their Facebook page states they have nearly 1.3 million followers.[24]

Diamond and Silk's censorship claims were repeated in right-wing media.[1] According to CNN, Diamond and Silk's claims likely influenced an April 2018 congressional hearing which involved Mark Zuckerberg after the Cambridge Analytica scandal.[1] Business Insider notes that Diamond and Silk were a "frequent topic" during that hearing.[25] Tennessee Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn finished her questioning of Zuckerberg by stating, "Let me tell you something right now, Diamond and Silk is not terrorism". Texas Republican Representative Joe Barton asked Zuckerberg, "Why is Facebook censoring conservative bloggers such as Diamond and Silk?" Zuckerberg responded that Facebook employees had made an error and they had contacted Hardaway and Richardson.[26][27]

There is no evidence that Diamond and Silk were censored or that their page was blocked by Facebook.[1][2][3][4] Facebook's own analytics firm showed that the Diamond & Silk page followed normal traffic patterns.[1] By the time that Diamond and Silk spoke at a congressional hearing about their censorship claims, news outlets such as CNN and Business Insider described their censorship claims as debunked.[2][25] At the hearing in question, experts testified that there was no evidence that Diamond and Silk had been targeted.[4] According to The Washington Post, "the numbers do not bear out the argument that the sisters have been repressed."[4]

Diamond and Silk repeatedly claimed that Facebook had never tried to get in touch with them, but Facebook did send several emails to the email account for Diamond and Silk's website, as well as several messages on Twitter.[1][25][3] Facebook said that it had also attempted to reach Diamond and Silk through phone and on Facebook Messenger.[25] Diamond and Silk later said that messages sent to them through email should not be expected to be read, because they receive many emails.[25]

2018 Congressional testimony

On April 26, 2018, they appeared at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on alleged filtering practices of social media platforms. Under questioning by Sheila Jackson Lee, Hardaway claimed, "We have never been paid by the Trump campaign." Jackson Lee claimed Diamond and Silk's statement was inaccurate testimony showing them a Federal Election Commission filing showed $1,275 was paid to them on November 22, 2016 for "field consulting."[28][29] Diamond and Silk responded to Jackson Lee by pointing out that the payment was re-imbursement for the cost of airplane tickets. Following their testimony, the Huffington Post reported that according to Trump campaign treasurer, Bradley Crate, the payment had been categorized incorrectly. Crate stated, "The Campaign’s payment to Diamond and Silk for field consulting was based on an invoice they submitted reflecting their costs for air travel to a Campaign event. The invoice was not supported by accompanying receipts, so as a technical matter, could not be reported as a reimbursement even though its purpose was to make them whole for their out-of-pocket costs." In the same Huffington Post article, it was reported that following a $7,025 payment from the campaign of Paul Ryan primary election challenger, Paul Nehlen, Hardaway and Richardson gave their endorsement to Nehlen.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Darcy, Oliver. "Led by Fox News, pro-Trump media fuels false narrative to accuse Facebook of censorship". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2018-04-26. the Diamond & Silk page was never banned. It was never taken down. It was never censored... The tidal wave of media coverage didn't just mislead viewers; it likely influenced the Mark Zuckerberg hearings on Capitol Hill. Several lawmakers chose to use at least a portion of their time questioning the Facebook chief to ask him about the supposed censorship of Hardaway and Richardson. The hearings were scheduled to address Facebook's use and protection of user data in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
  2. ^ a b c Darcy, Oliver. "The Diamond and Silk show goes to Washington". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2018-04-28. They had not been censored. Hardaway and Richardson's claims had been thoroughly debunked.
  3. ^ a b c Bowden, John (2018-04-27). "Chris Cuomo confronts GOP lawmaker over Diamond and Silk's claims of censorship". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-04-28. The two pro-Trump personalities allege that a number of social media platforms, including Facebook, censored their content using algorithms to prevent it from showing up on users' feeds. They have provided no evidence for they claim, which Facebook and other companies deny. In addition, the two were found to have erroneously claimed that Facebook did not contact them over their concerns, despite an investigation showing that Facebook reps attempted to reach out to the two over email.
  4. ^ a b c d Hesse, Monica; Zak, Dan (2018-04-26). "Who are Diamond and Silk? How two small-town ex-Democrats found fame as 'warriors' for Trump". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-04-28. experts testified in Congress that there's no evidence of targeting... The numbers do not bear out the argument that the sisters have been repressed.
  5. ^ a b Marjorie McAfee, Ashley Louszko, Byron Pitts, (2016-04-05). "A Look at Proud Donald Trump-Supporting Sister Act 'Diamond and Silk'". Retrieved 2018-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c Tessa Stuart (September 28, 2016). "Meet the Black Women Defending Trump's Record on Race". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 28, 2018. Like Trump himself, Diamond and Silk are new to the Republican party. Lifelong Democrats, they switched parties so they could cast their votes for him in the North Carolina primary.
  7. ^ Gorman, Michelle (2016-07-14). "DONALD TRUMP'S LOUD, PROUD AND PISSED OFF FEMALE SUPPORTERS". Newsweek.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  8. ^ Former Democrats Stump For Trump. Fox Business, Varney and Co. January 8, 2016
  9. ^ Foran, Clare (2016-01-29). "Meet the YouTube Stars Trying to Convert Democrats to Team Trump". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  10. ^ Lanktree, Graham (2017-08-10). "PRO-TRUMP YOUTUBERS DIAMOND AND SILK 'BUILD THEIR BRAND' WITH A HAND FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION". Newsweek. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  11. ^ a b Supporters Seek to Persuade Democrats to ‘Ditch and Switch’ for Donald Trump, New York Times, January 7, 2016.
  12. ^ Donald Trump Supporters Diamond and Silk a Comedy Act?, Liberty Voice, December 9, 2015.
  13. ^ ‘Stump for Trump’ duo rock capacity crowd at MS rally, The American Mirror, January 3, 2016.
  14. ^ "Diamond and Silk, Lara Trump bring Women for Trump tour to Winston-Salem". Winston-Salem Journal. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  15. ^ "FEC Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. Itemized Disbursements". Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  16. ^ Morris, Melinda (2018-03-20). "Fox News darlings Diamond and Silk bringing 'Chit Chat Tour' to New Orleans". NOLA.com The Times Picayune. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  17. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article208473664.html
  18. ^ a b "Diamond and Silk: We Don't Like White Nationalists or Antifa". Fox News Insider. 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  19. ^ a b Willis, Kiersten (2017-12-29). "Omarosa Gets Defended by Diamond and Silk … and the Trump Supporters Get Dragged - You may not like Omarosa, but you don't have a right to laugh at her". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  20. ^ Deerwester, Jayme (2017-12-14). "'GMA' host Robin Roberts on Omarosa's White House exit: 'Bye, Felicia'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  21. ^ Willis, Kiersten (2018-01-30). "Trump Supporters Diamond and Silk Get Dragged For Telling Jay-Z 'Stop Crying Like a Baby Because Trump Is Your President'". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  22. ^ Nate Church (August 11, 2017). "YouTube's 'Diamond and Silk' Believe They Were Demonetized for Trump Support". Breitbart News. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  23. ^ Birnbaum, Ian (2017-09-18). "YouTube is leaving its creators in the dark". The Outline. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  24. ^ Silk, Diamond and (2018-04-08). Diamond and Silk@DiamondandSilk (Social media).
  25. ^ a b c d e "Trump vloggers Diamond & Silk are sticking to their debunked claim about Facebook censorship". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-04-28. Hardaway and Richardson said, as they have many times in appearances on Fox News, that they were not contacted by Facebook in any official capacity... But messages obtained by conservative commentator Erick Erickson show that Facebook reached out to Hardaway and Richardson several times through phone, Facebook Messenger, and multiple email addresses.
  26. ^ Ng, Alfred (2018-04-11). "Who are Diamond and Silk, and what do they have to do with Facebook?". CNET.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  27. ^ Kutner, Max (2018-04-11). "DIAMOND AND SILK HIT BACK AT MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK 'CENSORSHIP': 'WE ARE NOT TERRORISTS'". Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  28. ^ Swanson, Ian (2018-04-26). "Diamond and Silk say under oath they weren't paid by Trump campaign; FEC filings say otherwise". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  29. ^ "Pro-Trump social media stars Diamond and Silk offer inaccurate testimony under oath — live updates". Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  30. ^ Nelson, Eliot (2018-04-26). "Diamond And Silk Appear To Lie Under Oath About Trump Payments". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
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