Yahoo Finance Trump Tweet About George Floyd, Minnesota Censored By Twitter: 'When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts'
Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) has censored a tweet from President Donald Trump about George Floyd and the Minnesota riots.
What To Know About George Floyd
George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in police custody on Monday after a white Minneapolis officer handcuffed him and kneeled on his neck for several minutes. In a video of the event, Floyd can be heard pleading, "I can't breathe."
Since then, police and protesters have clashed in Minneapolis with tear gas being fired by police as protesters throw rocks an. There have also been protests in Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California, Memphis and Tennessee, among other locations.
Trump’s Tweet On George Floyd
Earlier Friday morning, Trump expressed his thoughts in two tweets:
I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
The follow-up tweet, which said in part "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," was flagged by Twitter for "glorifying violence":
....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
Twitter communications tweeted the following response:
“We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the Tweet 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."
Axios said the decision to label Trump's tweet was made by teams within Twitter and CEO Jack Dorsey has been informed of the plan before the tweet was labeled.
See Also: Trump Signs Executive Order To End Social Media Legal Immunity For Third-Party Content
Trump Signs Executive Order To End Social Media Legal Immunity
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting social media platforms immunity from legal actions arising out of third-party content posted on their platform.
Earlier this week, Twitter fact-checked two of Trump’s tweets about mail-in ballots and labeled them “potentially misleading.”
Twitter is doing nothing about all of the lies & propaganda being put out by China or the Radical Left Democrat Party. They have targeted Republicans, Conservatives & the President of the United States. Section 230 should be revoked by Congress. Until then, it will be regulated!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
Twitter's stock fell 4.4% on Thursday to close at $31.60 per share.
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia.
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