Matt Gaetz Tweet Gets Twitter Warning Label for Glorifying Violence

OAKLAND, Calif. — Days after restricting one of President Trump’s posts from view for glorifying violence, Twitter went at it again.

On Monday, the social media service used the same label to hide a message by Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida — which likened those who were protesting police violence to terrorists and called for them to be hunted down. The move also meant that the tweet could not be retweeted or liked, to prevent it from being amplified.

“Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?” Mr. Gaetz had tweeted on Monday, referring to the far-left anti-fascist activist movement. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Twitter’s action.

Twitter last week engaged in a face-off with the president after adding fact-check labels to two of his tweets and then restricting a post in which Mr. Trump said that looting during the protests would lead to shooting. While the San Francisco company was applauded by some for taking more responsibility for the kinds of posts that appear on its platform, others said it was biased against conservatives like Mr. Trump.

Still, Twitter acted again, hiding Mr. Gaetz’s post behind a warning label — though it stopped short of taking down his message altogether.

“The Tweet is in violation of our glorification of violence policy,” a Twitter spokesman said.

Twitter last year announced a labeling system that marks tweets from public figures that violate its policies while allowing the messages to remain because they are the subject of significant public interest.

Last week, Mr. Trump signed an executive order that was meant to chip away at liability protections that social media companies have for the content that is posted on their sites. The executive order specifically targets a statute known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Technology companies have argued that the law is essential to their operations. But some lawmakers have said that the companies enjoy unchecked power and have proposed modifications to the law. Mr. Trump’s order is likely to face significant legal challenges, experts have said.

Cecilia Kang contributed reporting from Washington.

source: nytimes.com