Twitter Attaches Disclaimer On Trump Tweet About George Floyd Protests For ‘Glorifying Violence’

KEY POINTS

Twitter said Trump violated its community policy by “glorifying violence” in a tweet about the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis
Trump was previously fact-checked by Twitter over a tweet on absentee ballots and voter fraud
Trump signed an executive order to relax libel restrictions against Twitter and other social media companies

President Donald Trump’s feud with Twitter escalated Thursday (May 28) when the social media company accused him of breaking its rules by “glorifying violence.”

Trump published a series of tweets over the violent protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who died in police custody.

After criticizing Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and offering military assistance to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Trump implied that looters at protests in Minneapolis would be shot.

“Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump tweeted.

Twitter attached a notice to the tweet, which will only be visible if users actively click on the disclaimer. The disclaimer says, “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.”

Trump called Frey “very weak” over his handling of the protests and said that “thugs are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd.”

Frey has since responded by saying “Trump does not know the strength of Minneapolis.” Walz has already deployed over 500 members of the Minnesota National Guard to the city.

Trump was previously fact-checked by Twitter when he claimed that voter fraud would become widespread if absentee voting was expanded.

Twitter explained that the labels it put on Trump’s tweets about vote-by-mail plans in California were part of their “efforts to enforce our civic and integrity policy.”

The company also said that it wanted to give more context and facilitate conversation about voter fraud and mail-in ballots.

We added a label to two @realDonaldTrump Tweets about California’s vote-by-mail plans as part of our efforts to enforce our civic integrity policy. We believe those Tweets could confuse voters about what they need to do to receive a ballot and participate in the election process.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) May 28, 2020

Trump responded to the tags on Thursday by signing an executive order that called for new provisions to the Communications Decency Act in an attempt to relax restrictions on libel laws against companies like Twitter.

Trump accused Twitter of trying to interfere in the 2020 elections.

The disclaimer on Trump’s tweet about the George Floyd protests is the second time Twitter has flagged tweets from the President.