Twitter adds ‘glorifying violence’ label on Donald Trump’s Minneapolis tweet

Twitter placed a ‘public interest notice’ on the tweet about protests in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police

The move came hours after Trump signed an executive order threatening social media firms with new free speech regulations

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US President Donald Trump. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 5:33pm, 29 May 2020Updated: 11:25pm, 29 May 2020

Twitter concealed one of Donald Trump’s tweets on Friday for “glorifying violence,” ramping up a dispute with the US president who says social media companies censor conservative voices like his.

In a move bound to infuriate one of the platform’s most followed users, Twitter said it was placing a “public interest notice” on a Trump tweet about violent protests in Minneapolis over the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of the police.

In a late night tweet, Trump wrote: “These THUGS are dishonouring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”

Hours later, the micro-messaging platform hid the tweet behind a message that said it “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.”

“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.”

Users could still click through and view the full unedited tweet.

The “historical context” Twitter referred to is the 1960s – and Miami police chief Walter Headley’s aggressive policing of black neighbourhoods denounced at the time by civil rights leaders.