Trump sent a warning to Twitter this morning after they targeted his tweets yesterday, saying:
“Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that happen again. Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!”
Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020
….happen again. Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020
The “more sophisticated version” is clearly a reference to Twitter’s warning labels on Trump’s tweets yesterday.
As Liz Wheeler pointed out last night, Twitter’s spokesperson, Yoel Roth, said that their goal is “to limit the spread of potentially harmful & misleading content.” Then she goes on to point out this is the same Twitter spokesperson who called Trump a Nazi in 2017:
Boy doesn’t that instill confidence…
On a final note, Marco Rubio pointed out last night that it’s time to take away the protections for social media companies like Twitter:
The law still protects social media companies like @Twitter because they are considered forums not publishers.
But if they have now decided to exercise an editorial role like a publisher then they should no longer be shielded from liability & treated as publishers under the law.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 27, 2020
Let’s do it.