Glorifying violence

Twitter labels Trump tweet as ‘glorifying violence’

The president had said ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts’ regarding protests in Minnesota.

By MARK SCOTT

The battle between Donald Trump and Twitter reignited Friday after the social media giant ran a warning label on a tweet by the president.

The social media giant said that the president's tweet — which addressed protests in Minneapolis and said that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" — violated the company's policies on "glorifying  violence."

The company also barred individuals from retweeting Trump's post but only after it had been shared more than 23,000 times.

“We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the tweets on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance,” the company said in a post.

Trump's tweet came after protesters took to the streets in Minnesota to voice their anger against the recent killing of a man by local law enforcement. In a tweet, Twitter said it violated the company's policies "based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today."

The company's move comes a day after the U.S. president signed an executive order aimed at punishing Twitter, Facebook and Google for what he perceives as these companies' attack on free speech. Tech executives and free speech campaigners, however, have defended Twitter's practice of fact-checking Trump's comments as a necessary step to protect vulnerable groups.