Republican lawmakers Wednesday revived allegations that Twitter has suppressed conservative voices on its platform, a claim that Democrats and company CEO Jack Dorsey sharply challenged in the second of two back-to-back, high-stakes congressional hearings for the tech leader.

At a House Energy and Commerce committee hearing, GOP leaders said they remain unsatisfied with Twitter's explanations for what they see as "shadow banning" that reduces the visibility of their accounts. The flap gained renewed prominence last month, after President Donald Trump took to Twitter to bash tech companies for "silencing millions of people" — a claim he has yet to substantiate.

Earlier Wednesday, Dorsey and Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg fielded questions for nearly three hours on their companies' efforts to combat online disinformation and foreign influence operations ahead of the midterm elections. Lawmakers also pressed the executives on an array of issues including data privacy, hate speech and doing business in China.

Both hearings, however, veered into bizarre political theater at times, complete with a disruption from a screaming far-right activist who was drowned out by Republican Billy Long performing an auctioneering routine; a conspicuously empty chair set aside in the Senate hearing to highlight Google's absence; and a cameo from InfoWars host Alex Jones.