Twitter puts warning on Donald Trump tweet for 'threat of harm' against Washington DC protesters

  • london
  • June 23, 2020
  • Comments Off on Twitter puts warning on Donald Trump tweet for 'threat of harm' against Washington DC protesters
Twitter puts warning on Donald Trump tweet for 'threat of harm' against Washington DC protesters thumbnail

The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday – Friday plus breaking news updates

Twitter has placed a warning notice on a post from Donald Trump, saying it violated the social media firm’s policy against abusive behaviour.

The US President had tweeted that protesters would be “met with serious force” if they tried to set up an autonomous zone in Washington DC.

Mr Trump’s tweet was hidden behind Twitter’s “public interest” notice because there was a threat of harm against an identifiable group, the company said.

“There will never be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!” the president’s tweet on Tuesday read.

The Twitter warning notice read: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about abusive behaviour.

“However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”

This was the second time Twitter has deployed the public interest label on a tweet by the US president, after announcing the creation of the tool last summer.

Chief Executive Jack Dorsey was informed of the decision before the notice was applied, a Twitter spokeswoman said.

The US leader’s tweet came after anti-racism protesters on Monday declared a Black House Autonomous Zone near the White House in front of St. John’s Church.

They referenced a Seattle area known as the Capitol Hill Organised Protest (CHOP) zone, or the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

The company first attached its public interest notice to one of Mr Trump’s tweets last month.

In that tweet, the president used the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” to threaten deadly force against protesters in Minneapolis.

Twitter said that message violated its rules against “glorifying violence.”