The announcement comes amid pressure from social media to remove hate-fueled accounts. Apparently, it’s okay to declare on Twitter that you’re going to attack an entire country or assassinate its leader. According to Twitter, that’s true if you’re US President Donald Trump, even if the tweets violate the platform’s terms of service.
Since Trump took office in January, the internet has been wondering how San Francisco-based Twitter could allow the President to routinely violate “The Twitter Rules.” The latest violation came when Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “Little Rocket Man” in reference to the country’s nuclear ambitions.
Facing criticism that Twitter’s most popular tweeter had gone too far again, Twitter has responded. The company said the president’s tweet was not taken down and the president was not blocked because his tweets are worthy of attention. Twitter said it was now disclosing a long-standing “internal policy” and that it would “soon update the rules that citizens face.”.
Twitter's latest announcement comes as it and other social networks are removing tens of thousands of accounts worldwide due to users violating content rules by promoting violence or hatred.
Still, Twitter somehow managed to muster a statement that it wasn’t giving the president any special treatment. “We hold all accounts to the same rules and look at a number of factors when evaluating whether Tweets violate our rules,” Twitter said. “Among the considerations is whether a Tweet is in the public interest.”.
In July, Twitter said the president's @realDonaldTrump handle was not granted executive privilege. "Rules are rules, we enforce them the same way for everyone.".
We have never seen a US conduct foreign and domestic policy on such a massive and impulsive scale—in messages of 140 characters or less. Whether Twitter is the right place for such presidential matters is another matter.
