- Jul 31, 2018
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Twitter locks Donald Trump's account for 12 hours, threatens permanent suspension
www.freep.com
Twitter has locked President Donald Trump's personal Twitter account for 12 hours for "repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy" as many of his supporters stormed and breached the US Capitol on Wednesday.
The @TwitterSafety account said the violations stem from three tweets, including a video Trump shared to his supporters, telling them to "go home" but also repeating false claims that the November general election was "stolen from us."
"This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets," Twitter Safety said. "If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked."
Twitter Safety continued: "Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account."
The violating Trump tweets have since been removed from the @realDonaldTrump account.
The @realDonaldTrump Twitter account has more than 88 million followers.
Trump had used the account for years before his presidency, and it has been a target of controversy since he took office in 2017. He has used it to launch personal attacks and baseless claims on numerous occasions, leading many to call for Twitter to ban the account.
However, Twitter has mostly been lenient toward @realDonaldTrump; this is the first time it has locked the account. It has cited a separate policy for world leaders on the platform, saying "if a Tweet from a world leader does violate the Twitter Rules but there is a clear public interest value to keeping the Tweet on the service, we may place it behind a notice that provides context about the violation and allows people to click through should they wish to see the content."
Twitter's policy on Trump, as well as Facebook's, has been a source of controversy during his presidency, and that controversy came to a head as many of his supporters rioted on US Capitol grounds Wednesday, just as lawmakers were set to certify the Electoral College vote.
Rioters stormed the Capitol building, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to be swept to a secure location and the Senate chamber to be evacuated. A woman was shot inside the Capitol and taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Facebook and YouTube also removed Trump's video Wednesday afternoon.
"This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video," said Guy Rosen, Facebook's Vice President of Integrity. "We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence."
More to come.
Twitter locks Donald Trump's account for 12 hours, threatens permanent suspension
Twitter has cited violations on three of Trump's tweets as many of his supporters rioted and breached the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
www.freep.com
Twitter has locked President Donald Trump's personal Twitter account for 12 hours for "repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy" as many of his supporters stormed and breached the US Capitol on Wednesday.
The @TwitterSafety account said the violations stem from three tweets, including a video Trump shared to his supporters, telling them to "go home" but also repeating false claims that the November general election was "stolen from us."
"This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets," Twitter Safety said. "If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked."
Twitter Safety continued: "Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account."
The violating Trump tweets have since been removed from the @realDonaldTrump account.
The @realDonaldTrump Twitter account has more than 88 million followers.
Trump had used the account for years before his presidency, and it has been a target of controversy since he took office in 2017. He has used it to launch personal attacks and baseless claims on numerous occasions, leading many to call for Twitter to ban the account.
However, Twitter has mostly been lenient toward @realDonaldTrump; this is the first time it has locked the account. It has cited a separate policy for world leaders on the platform, saying "if a Tweet from a world leader does violate the Twitter Rules but there is a clear public interest value to keeping the Tweet on the service, we may place it behind a notice that provides context about the violation and allows people to click through should they wish to see the content."
Twitter's policy on Trump, as well as Facebook's, has been a source of controversy during his presidency, and that controversy came to a head as many of his supporters rioted on US Capitol grounds Wednesday, just as lawmakers were set to certify the Electoral College vote.
Rioters stormed the Capitol building, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to be swept to a secure location and the Senate chamber to be evacuated. A woman was shot inside the Capitol and taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Facebook and YouTube also removed Trump's video Wednesday afternoon.
"This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video," said Guy Rosen, Facebook's Vice President of Integrity. "We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence."
More to come.
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