Opinion

Trump’s threat of violent retaliation against protestors “violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence,” the platform ruled with its label.

Twitter applied a warning label early Friday on Donald Trump’s latest tweet about the death of George Floyd, which it said violated its rules against glorifying violence.
Trump had called people protesting the death of Floyd, who died in Minneapolis on Monday after a police officer knelt on his neck, “THUGS” and threatened violence in response. “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” tweeted the president. 
Protests have erupted nationwide over Floyd’s death with demonstrators in Minneapolis setting buildings on fire and warring with police.
Twitter’s label, below, said the platform had “determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
Users are still able to click through to see Trump’s post:
Trump is yet to respond to the label.
But the move is sure to escalate tensions between Trump and Twitter, which on Tuesday put fact-check warnings on two of the president’s tweets in which he baselessly claimed that mail-in voting was “substantially fraudulent.”
Trump hit back and accused the platform of “stifling free speech.”
Then, on Thursday, he signed an executive order in a bid to weaken legal protections for social media companies by pushing the liability for what gets posted onto them.
Twitter has, however, this week refused to delete Trump’s spreading of baseless conspiracy theories about MSNBC’s host Joe Scarborough.
Twitter confirmed Friday that it had “placed a public interest notice” on Trump’s post:
We have placed a public interest notice on this Tweet from @realdonaldtrump. https://t.co/6RHX56G2zt
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) May 29, 2020
This Tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today. https://t.co/sl4wupRfNH
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) May 29, 2020
We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the Tweet on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the Tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance.
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) May 29, 2020
As is standard with this notice, engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Retweet with Comment, but will not be able to Like, Reply or Retweet it. https://t.co/V3T521zjnj
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) May 29, 2020
It followed a growing backlash from other prominent users of the platform, including comedian Patton Oswalt, a fierce critic of the president:
Reported https://t.co/qAdFm7G53q
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 29, 2020