Trump’s nuclear tweets are safe on Twitter
Silencing president would stymie debate, social network says
SAN FRANCISCO – Twitter has answered calls to block President Trump from its platform for inciting violence. The answer was “no.”
In its corporate blog late Friday, the company did not name Trump but said “blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate.”
The statement follows last week’s increasingly bellicose back- andforth between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
It began with a speech Kim gave on Monday saying he had a button ready to launch nuclear weapons installed in his desk. The next day Trump tweeted that he, too, has a nuclear button, “but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his.”
Critics feared the president’s tweet was bringing the world close to nuclear war. A flood of messages began on social media calling for Twitter to block Trump’s tweets. Many said they had reported him for violating Twitter’s terms of service.
The argument made by those who would block the president is that his statements can be construed as condoning nuclear war with North Korea.
As Twitter made clear, although its terms of service say threatening people online can be seen as abusive and grounds for removal, when a world leader tweets, it is newsworthy and therefore protected.
In its posting, Twitter also seemed to address speculation that it wouldn’t block the president because his unprecedented popularity on the platform was crucial for its financial stability.
“No one person’s account drives Twitter’s growth, or influences these decisions,” Twitter said.