Twitter to suspend users who hope for Trump’s death
The president has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the coronavirus.
Twitter will suspend accounts of users who openly hope President Donald Trump dies from the coronavirus.
Just a month before the presidential election, Trump tweeted early Friday morning that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested COVID-19 positive, theGRIO previously reported.
As the day progressed, the White House said Trump was “fatigued” and had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail for the virus. By Friday evening, officials revealed he will spend the next few days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, citing precautionary reasons. Trump will reportedly work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.
In the meantime, Twitter told Motherboard that users who call for the death of the president will have their accounts removed or put into a “read only” mode, per Vice.com.
Read More: Trump going to military hospital after COVID-19 diagnosis
“Content that wishes, hopes or expresses a desire for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against an individual is against our rules,” Twitter said in a statement.
The company noted that it “won’t take enforcement action on every Tweet” that violates Trump amid his health crisis.
“We’re prioritizing the removal of content when it has a clear call to action that could potentially cause real-world harm,” Twitter said.
Trump has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging states and cities to “reopen” and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules.
During Tuesday night’s debate, he mocked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for regularly wearing a mask in public.
“I don’t wear masks like him,” Trump said of Biden. “Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
Read More: Joe Biden tests negative for COVID-19, says he learned about Trump positive test through media
Both Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said. Vice President Mike Pence has also tested negative for the virus and “remains in good health,” his spokesman said.
In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife “send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.”
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