Twitter flags Trump’s tweet on protests in Minnesota

Twitter on Friday flagged a tweet by United States President Donald Trump on the protests in Minnesota.

Twitter has hidden a tweet by the US President that referred to these protests on account that it violates the platform’s rules and “glorifies violence.”

“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible,” the Twitter label reads.

“We have placed a public interest notice on this Tweet from @realdonaldtrump,” Twitter explained in a tweet thread.

“This Tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today,” it said.

“We've taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the Tweet on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the Tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance,” it added.

The microblogging platform hid Trump’s tweet on protestors setting fires in St. Paul and Minneapolis, according to reports. The protests are against the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody.

The incident has been condemned across social media platforms.

The tweet in question was: “These THUGS are dishonouring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”

The tweet is hidden from view but is still accessible by clicking on the “view” button. This also limits the engagement on the tweet. Twitter users cannot like, reply or retweet the tweet but can retweet the same with comment.

This is the second time that the social media platform had flagged a tweet by the US President. Earlier this week, Twitter had tagged Trump’s tweets with a “misleading tweet” label stating that it contained unsubstantiated claims of fraud about mail-in voting. The microblogging platform had added a warning to the US President’s tweet prompting readers to fact-check the posts.

Trump on Thursday, allegedly in retaliation had signed an executive order to propose legislation that could roll back certain provisions of a law called Section 230. These provisions protect social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter from liability for content posted by its users.

COMMENT NOW