Twitter Catches Flak Over Its Response to Trump's Illness

Other users wonder why Twitter didn't do anything about tweets threatening them
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 5, 2020 2:01 PM CDT
Confusion Over Twitter's Stance on Tweets Wishing Harm
A man wearing a face mask walks by a TV screen Friday showing an image of President Trump's Twitter feed at the Seoul Railway Station in South Korea.   (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Word that Twitter won't allow any tweets expressing hope that harm comes to someone has users wondering why action wasn't taken until President Trump fell ill. Twitter cited a rule that it said has been in place since April against abusive behavior in saying last week that tweets rooting against Trump's recovery from COVID-19 will be removed. The offending account might also be changed to read-only, Vice reports. Other users who have been threatened asked where enforcement of that rule has been. Janey Godley, a comedian and actress, retweeted a post saying, "Would love to watch Janey Godley die" that she said has been left up for more than a year. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez answered Twitter's announcement with "So ... you mean to tell us you could've done this the whole time?"

Another tweet in response: "Looks like no one at Twitter Comms is a woman, Black person, brown person, gay person, trans person, disabled person, liberal person, progressive person, non-religious person, or actual person." "The death threats towards us should have been taking more seriously," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat who Trump said should go back to where she came from. Twitter later said it would work harder to enforce abuse policies evenly, per USA Today. "We hear the voices who feel that we're enforcing some policies inconsistently," the post said. "We agree we must do better." TikTok said it removes such content, and Facebook announced it's taking down "content targeted directly at the president that wishes him death." (More Twitter stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X