| Friend,
Donald Trump has used Twitter to foment hate and violence against people of color for years. It is past time for Twitter to enforce its own policies, which the president has repeatedly violated.
The company is starting to show signs that it understands how serious this issue is: This week it labeled a deceitful Trump tweet with a fact-checking link and flagged a post last night for violating its policies against “glorifying violence.” These are steps in the right direction, but they don’t go far enough.
Tell Twitter to ban Donald Trump.
In the wake of police officers’ murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Trump has once again weaponized the platform against Black people — tweeting this morning that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”1 and using the racist term “thugs” to describe outraged and grieving protesters pouring into the streets to demand #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd.
Twitter’s move to flag this post is an improvement on its previous hands-off approach — and goes much further than anything Facebook has ever done regarding the president. But these are not isolated incidents and shouldn’t be treated as such. Trump has tweeted dangerous, hateful things on a near-daily basis for years while Twitter has done nothing to intervene.
Twitter is still giving the president a powerful microphone that he’s using to incite violence against Black protesters: Tell Twitter to ban Donald Trump for repeated violations of its terms of service.
On Thursday, the president retaliated against Twitter for flagging his tweets by signing an unconstitutional executive order to give the federal government oversight of political speech on the internet.2 The order is Trump’s naked attempt to bully into silence Twitter, other social-media sites and anyone who attempts to correct or criticize him.
Twitter has the right and the responsibility to moderate content to keep its users safe and well-informed. But it needs to take this responsibility much more seriously: As long as it’s allowing Trump’s account to remain, it’s endangering its users. In the last week alone, the president has falsely accused the state of Michigan of illegal voter fraud, used racist language and called for the shooting of protesters. It’s past time: Tell Twitter to ban Donald Trump.
If Twitter fails to take this action then it’s basically endorsing the president’s repeated violations of its own policies — and deepening his harm of Black lives.
Thanks for all that you do,
Free Press Action Team
freepress.net
P.S. Trump has used his Twitter account to harass and threaten people of color countless times. Enough is enough: Urge Twitter to ban Donald Trump.
1. “Where Does the Phrase ‘When the Looting Starts, the Shooting Starts’ Come From?” NBC News, May 29, 2020 2. “Trump’s Executive Order Is a Blatant and Unconstitutional Attempt to Silence Critics and Fact Checkers,” Free Press, May 28, 2020 |
