Twitter does something it’s never done — fact checks Trump
President says that move stifles the freedom of speech: 'I will not allow it to happen!'
Social media giant, Twitter, is finally beginning to hold President Donald Trump accountable for false and misleading posts.
Social media giant, Twitter, is finally beginning to hold President Donald Trump accountable for false and misleading posts.
The president posted two tweets that claimed that mail-in voting will result in a “rigged election.”
READ MORE: Widower of woman in Trump conspiracy theory tweets asks Twitter CEO to delete them
There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent,” he wrote. He went on to claim that mailboxes will be robbed, and ballots forged.
There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
He even implied that illegal aliens would be allowed to vote and that “professionals” will tell people how and who to vote for.
There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
For the first time, the president’s favorite pulpit added a caveat to the two tweets.
The message, “Get the facts about mail-in ballots” was added to the bottom of each post. It links to another page with multiple articles and posts that explain that Trump’s claims about mail-in voting fraud are unsubstantiated.
Twitter says that the feature is meant to add context to the president’s tweets. He, however, says that the move amounts to “stifling free speech,” and accused them of “interfering” in the 2020 election.
“I, as President, will not allow it to happen!” he wrote.
The social media company released a statement earlier this month that they were taking new action to address misleading information. The move was initially launched to combat misinformation around the coronavirus pandemic. However, the company expanded the policy to “provide additional explanations or clarifications in situations where the risks of harm associated with a Tweet are less severe but where people may still be confused or misled by the content.”
There are both supporters and detractors of the action. Some have thanked Twitter for taking the action, while others accuse the platform of trying to limit “the truth.”
Your statement regarding mail-in ballots is INCORRECT and it’s straight up misinformation.
Thank you Twitter for taking a stance against what is free speech and what is blatant lies to deceive the general public.
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) May 27, 2020
The insanity continues with Twitter trying to dictate free speech, they are acting like publishers on a free speech platform.
— Dawn Michael, PhD? (@SexCounseling) May 26, 2020
It is likely that the platform will take action against the president again.
READ MORE: Trump threatens to move RNC without assurances from governor
Trump tweets multiple times a day, often making a number of unsubstantiated claims including against former president, Barack Obama. Recently, he has been tweeting about former congressman and current MSNBC Morning Joe host, Joe Scarborough.
Trump, and his son Donald Jr., have implied that Scarborough was involved in the death of a former staff member, Lori Klausutis. Her widower, Timothy, sent a lengthy letter to Jack Dorsey, the president of Twitter, imploring him to delete the tweets stating his wife died of an unidentified heart condition and that the president is compounding their family’s grief.
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