Trump Lashes Out At Facebook, Twitter For Censoring Right-Wing Politics After Video Taken Down

President Trump lashed out Thursday at Facebook and Twitter after the platforms blocked a video posted to his accounts for spreading falsehoods about COVID-19. Trump appeared on Geraldo Rivera’s Cleveland radio show after the block, arguing that he and other conservatives are being unfairly targeted over political differences rather than for spreading lies and conspiracies.

“They’re doing anybody, on the right, anybody, any Republican, any conservative Republican is censored and look at the horrible things they say on the left,” Trump claimed.

The video in question featured part of an interview the president did with Fox News on Wednesday, in which he claimed that children are “virtually immune” to the novel coronavirus as part of his argument for why schools should be reopened.

“It doesn’t have an impact on them,” Trump said. “I’ve watched some doctors say they’re totally immune.”

It was shared to Twitter by the account for his reelection campaign and was later posted to Facebook as well. Both were taken down as part of each platform's policy against coronavirus misinformation.

“The original Tweet from @TeamTrump is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation, and we’ve required removal,” Twitter spokesman Nick Pacilio said. The campaign account was briefly blocked from tweeting anything after the violation.

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have begun cracking down in recent months on misinformation and general inflammatory remarks spread by Trump online. Twitter, for example, has flagged several Trump tweets about mail-in voter fraud as inaccurate, as well as one about protesters in Minnesota for inciting and glorifying violence.