Green Party Candidate Jill Stein goes on a tweetstorm about Harambe and the media

Thomson Reuters

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein arrives at a rally of Bernie Sanders's supporters on the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein lashed out at the media early on Monday, criticizing journalists for covering her tweet about Harambe, the gorilla who was shot at Cincinnati Zoo when a young boy fell into his enclosure, more than her statements on police brutality and racism in America. 

"The killing of Harambe 3 months ago today reminds us to be a voice for the voiceless," Stein tweeted on August 28. The tweet received more than 5,600 and 6,000 favorites.

In the tweet, she linked to an official statement in which she emphasized "the need to adopt stronger legal protections for the rights of animals" in light of Harambe's killing.

The statement, dated June 1, goes on to suggest that zoos should be illegal: "Harambe was killed by a zoo which raises revenues by selling tickets to see captive animals, including primates... the Green Party believes that captivity for such entertainment is ethically wrong and fundamentally exploitive and should be illegal."

According to Stein, over 100 journalists replied to her tweet about Harambe, which prompted her to condemn the media for covering her statement on Harambe more than her repeated calls to end police violence and address racism in the wake of increased reports of police shootings of African-American men. 

On Monday, she tweeted, "100+ journalists replied to my tweet on Harambe. Where were they when I called to end racism & police violence?"

Later, she continued, "Real question to journalists: why do you find Harambe more interesting than ending racism & police violence?" She also called out the media for paying more attention to her tweet about Harambe than her visit to Baltimore to discuss solutions to poverty. 

Dr. Stein, like Senator Bernie Sanders, has taken a vocal stance against establishment politics and the campaign finance system. She is also campaigning on a platform to promote swift action to combat global climate change, establish healthcare as a right, instate a $15 minimum wage, and cut military spending by at least 50%, among other things. 

She is currently polling at around 3 percent nationally, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls.