Cartoonist Ben Garrison has been disinvited from the White House Social Media Summit. Garrison, who is often referred to as “alt-right,” has been widely condemned for creating cartoons often thought to have antisemitic and racist content. The Anti-Defamation League has said that Garrison is “known for cartoons with right-wing, anti-government and conspiratorial themes.”
President Trump set the Social Media Summit to address “opportunities and challenges of today’s online environment” according to White House spokesperson Judd Deere who further stated that the president “wants to engage directly with these digital leaders in a discussion on the power of social media.” A full list of invitees was not confirmed by the White House, but social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and Google all confirmed that they had not been invited.
Rumored guests include prominent conservative groups such as Turning Point USA, the Heritage Foundation, PragerU, and James O’Keefe of Project Veritas. The president has been outspoken in his criticism of social media for allegedly biased censorship that targets conservative voices.
