Twitter 'warns' account that only reposts Trump's tweets about its content
Media posted by @UnfollowTrump will now be hidden behind a warning message for some users
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.@UnfollowTrump, a Twitter account that reproduces all of Donald Trump’s tweets, claims to have received an email from Twitter saying it has posted “potentially sensitive” content that will now be hidden behind a warning message.
The apparent warning is believed to refer to a disturbing video that the president retweeted this morning, which appears to show a boy being murdered.
@UnfollowTrump posted screenshots of a message with the caption, “(Admin message, not Trump) Just got an email from Twitter, threatening this account based on the content posted. Wonder if the real Trump gets these warnings. #TermsOfService”
The email @UnfollowTrump claims to have received from Twitter says the company received reports that media tweeted from the account “may contain sensitive information”, and that it has now been labelled accordingly.
“There will now be a click-through warning message over the media for users whose accounts are set so they are informed before viewing media that may be sensitive,” it says.
The message continues, “If you continue to upload potentially sensitive media that are not labeled as such, we may permanently adjust your account setting.”
Twitter has faced repeated calls for Donald Trump to be banned from the platform, not least when he appeared to threaten nuclear war with North Korea.
However, this is unlikely to ever happen because Twitter considers his updates to be “of public interest” and too “newsworthy” to block.
“As appropriate, we take action against content that violates our terms of service, including hiding some content behind sensitive media filters,” a Twitter spokesperson told the Independent.
“As our Help Center notes: ‘To help ensure people have an opportunity to see every side of an issue, there may be the rare occasion when we allow controversial content or behavior which may otherwise violate our Rules to remain on our service because we believe there is a legitimate public interest in its availability. Each situation is evaluated on a case by case basis and ultimately decided upon by a cross-functional team.’”
Still, the US President has been widely condemned for retweeting the videos, which were originally posted by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of far-right group Britain First.
After being retweeted by Mr Trump, Fransen posted an update reading: Thanks for the retweets @realDonaldTrump. I'm facing prison for criticising Islam. Britain is now Sharia compliant. I need your help! God bless.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments