Affixes warning label

Twitter affixes warning label to Trump tweet about force

Rachel Lerman

Twitter hid one of President Donald Trump's tweets on Tuesday with a warning label - the fifth tweet from the president that the social media company has labeled in the last several weeks.

Twitter said the tweet violates its policy prohibiting abusive behavior and specifically "the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group." The tweet says "There will never be an "Autonomous Zone" in Washington, D.C., as long as I'm your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!"

The warning label hides the president's tweet, and users must click it to view the text.

Twitter has faced off with President Donald Trump over his account in the last few weeks, drawing his ire as the company labeled two of his tweets for misleading information about mail-in ballots, one for a manipulated video and one for inciting violence.

After the first of the labels - which placed fact-check warnings on two tweets about mail-in ballots - Trump and his supporters lashed out at Twitter, accusing the company of censoring conservative voices. Trump signed an executive order that sought to punish social media companies by opening the door to change a federal law that gives Internet companies broad legal immunity over what their users post online.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted in response to Twitter's labeling on Tuesday, writing, "Twitter labeled it 'abusive behavior' for the President of the United States to say that he will enforce the law. Twitter says it is 'abusive' to prevent rioters from forcibly seizing territory to set up a lawless zone in our capital."

She followed it up with mention of the shootings in Seattle's autonomous zone controlled by protesters. "We must have LAW AND ORDER!" she wrote.

After Twitter labeled one of Trump's tweets as "manipulated media" for linking to a doctored video last week, White House spokesman Judd Deere said, "If Twitter is not careful, it's going to have to label itself a 'manipulator.' "

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tweeted Tuesday for Twitter to "#StopTheBias."

"The President tweets that people should stop breaking the law and Twitter moves to censor him," he wrote.

Twitter said it would leave Trump's Tuesday tweet online because of its "relevance to ongoing public conversation."

Trump's tweet appears to refer to the area in front of the White House that some protesters call the "Black House Autonomous Zone," which was cleared out by police Tuesday. There is also a so-called "autonomous zone" controlled by protesters in Seattle, which is now known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest. The zone had been largely peaceful, but shootings in the area have led the city to say it will start asking people to leave the zone at night, The Seattle Times reports.

Twitter noted that this is not the first time it has used the public interest notice to limit how a tweet can be viewed or shared. That type of label was also used on a May Trump tweet in which he referred to protesters as "THUGS" and wrote, "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

Fellow social media giant Facebook left that post up, provoking harsh criticism against the company. Trump also posted Tuesday's message about the autonomous zone on Facebook, where it was unlabeled. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Social media companies have been caught in a heated public debate about how to treat politicians on their websites since the 2016 elections, and concerns have become heightened as this year's presidential election approaches.