Social networking giant Twitter on Tuesday flagged one more tweet of US President Donald Trump for ‘abusive behaviour’ and ‘violating guidelines’.
“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about abusive behavior. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” Twitter put up the notice on Trump’s tweet which remains hidden on timeline till you choose to view it.
In a statement, Twitter said, that US President Donald Trump’s tweet is abusive behaviour, “specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group.”
Per our policies, this Tweet will remain on the service given its relevance to ongoing public conversation.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) June 23, 2020
Engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Retweet with Comment, but not Like, Reply, or Retweet it.
Twitter claimed that while Trump’s tweet violates its policies, it will remain online because of the ongoing conversation regarding the political movement in the US.
Trump, in his tweet, had said that as long as he is the President of US, there will not be any ‘autonomous zone’ in Washington D.C. “If they try they will be met with serious force!” he tweeted.
Trump was referring to the violent protests in US where rioters tried to pull down the bronze statue of former US President Andrew Jackson and tried to establish “Black House Autonomous Zone”.
WATCH: Protesters tried to topple the Andrew Jackson statue near the White House Monday. They were eventually dispersed by police, who used pepper spray to clear out the area https://t.co/nOxSNLTAa8 pic.twitter.com/8w1E2QsV01
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 23, 2020
Prior to this, Trump had tweeted that he has authorised the federal government to arrest anyone who vandalises public property.
…..This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
Trump had threatened police action against the rioters and vandals.
Twitter flags Donald Trump’s tweet for ‘violating guidelines’
US President Donald Trump has locked horns with the social networking giant over censoring his tweets earlier too. He has been involved in a raging battle against Twitter after the latter included a ‘fact-check’ on a tweet he had made regarding mail-in ballots. In May his tweet was censored by Twitter after he promised to send the military to deal with looters who are running amok on the streets of USA. Trump had said, “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” And for that reason, Twitter found that the US President had violated rules regarding ‘glorifying violence’.
The political censorship of conservative opinion on social media platforms has been a long standing issue that tech giants have had to grapple with. The censorship of US President Donald Trump himself on social media is the natural culmination of the gradual progression of events.
