Paul Gosar alters a Japanese anime film in which a hero with his face kills an evil titan with the face of a democrat.
(The Hill) – Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, tweeted an animated video manipulated by photographs Sunday that shows an image of him hitting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and running for President Joe Biden. while he was armed with two swords, sparking outrage from Twitter users who said keeping the post violates the rules of the social media platform.
The Arizona Republican tweeted the video with the caption “Any anime fans?”
The 90-second video, with anime and music special effects, opens to scenes of immigrants on the US-Mexico border with captioned text drugs, crime, poverty, money, gangs, violence, and trafficking.
The video also combines images of former President Donald Trump and videos of immigration and migrant officials at the border.
Armed with swords, an animated version of Gosar appears titled “Immigrant Attack,” as he, along with anime versions of fellow conservative Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Bobert of Colorado, apparently attack a giant on the back with Ocasio-Cortez’s face edited on it.
The video then ends with the anime image of Gosar, once again armed with swords, running towards a large photo of Biden’s face.
The video is inspired by the Japanese manga “Attack on Titan” created by Hajime Isayama.
Many online users have criticized Twitter for allowing the video to remain life because it violates Twitter’s rules and policies that prohibit users from threatening “violence against an individual or group of people” as well as the “glorification of violence. “.
A Twitter spokesperson told The Hill in a statement: “We have placed a public interest notice on this Tweet because it violates our hateful conduct policy. As is standard with this notice, interactions with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to quote “Tweet the Tweet, but you will not be able to like, Reply or Retweet”.
In response to the video, Ocasio-Cortez sent out a series of tweets Monday night detailing the times she was verbally harassed by other members of Congress, including an incident last summer when she was approached by then-Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida. , on the steps of the Capitol and another when Greene confronted her aggressively, suggested that Gosar would also not face consequences “[because] institutions do not protect [women of color.]”.
The New York Democrat also suggested that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, would cheer for Gosar “with excuses.”
The Hill has reached out to McCarthy’s office for comment.
“Attack on Titan” was released in 2013. Many have criticized the series for allegedly supporting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and fascism, according to Vice.
Gosar, who was first elected to Congress in 2010, has been repeatedly criticized by other lawmakers and outside groups for spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections and other issues.
