For the better part of a year, Donald Trump has pushed the envelope on Twitter. But now that he’s seemingly about to become president, it begs the question–what would happen if he crossed from mere lies, deceit, and insults to outright harassment? Well, Twitter has put the president-elect on notice–if you go over the line, we will nuke your account, president-elect or not.
Amid a renewed focus on harassment and hate speech on social media, Slate decided to ask Facebook and Twitter if they would be willing to cut the cord on Trump’s mic if he violated their rules. Facebook revealed that it wouldn’t apply its normal community standards to Trump, citing their newsworthiness and his wide support.
Apparently Facebook’s stance hasn’t changed that much from the heat of the campaign. If you’ll remember, several Facebook employees wanted Trump’s Facebook page deleted. They found some of Trump’s posts, such as his call for a ban on Muslim immigration, so incendiary that they amounted to hate speech. However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg overruled them, saying that he was not willing to interfere with a major-party candidate’s posts.
Twitter, however, took a different line. It told Slate that it would not hesitate to nuke an account that was engaging in such behavior.
“The Twitter Rules prohibit violent threats, harassment, hateful conduct, and multiple account abuse, and we will take action on accounts violating those policies.”
When asked specifically if this meant Trump could have his account nuked if he broke those rules, Twitter made its stance loud and clear.
“The Twitter Rules apply to all accounts, including verified accounts.”
This comes a few weeks after Twitter dropped the hammer on several of Trump’s alt-right (read: white supremacist) acolytes. With this announcement, Twitter has effectively told the president-elect that it is now watching him with its finger on the nuke button.
The wingnuts howled after Twitter nuked the white supremacist accounts, and they began howling in earnest after Twitter announced it wouldn’t hesitate to nuke Trump as well. A typical reaction came from Trump BFF and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouWZIyUEiAc
Jones whined that Twitter was effectively saying that the president-elect “can’t be allowed to talk to people,” and it was payback for the foreign banks’ failed attempt to steal the election for Hillary Clinton. No, Alex. Twitter is simply telling Trump to adhere to basic norms of civility.
Believe it or not, as often as Trump has skated close to the line, there are only a few times that he–or his social media team–have indisputably gone over it.
- In June 2015, he plastered the private cell phone number of Univision anchor Jorge Ramos on both Twitter and Instagram. Within 24 hours, both posts had been deleted–most likely as a blatant violation of both outlets’ rules against posting private information.
- This past summer, Trump’s social media team posted a picture of Hillary Clinton superimposed on a pile of cash and a Star of David–an image that had been floating around the white supremacist web for some time before then. After a firestorm of criticism, Trump was forced to edit the picture.
And that’s before we even discuss the numerous times where he has incited his acolytes to attack those who dare speak out against him. That may explain why Trump himself hasn’t said anything about it. For a guy who goes unhinged at the tiniest perceived slight, that’s very telling. Sounds like Trump knows he’s been busted.
All things considered, Twitter’s not-so-veiled warning to Trump is long overdue.
(featured image courtesy Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
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