Twitter labels Donald Trump's tweets as 'potentially misleading' for the first time

Twitter has labelled two of Donald Trump's tweets 'potentially misleading' in a first for the social media network which has long resisted calls to censure the US President over his frequent abuse, insults and false claims.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event on Protecting Seniors with Diabetes in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 26, 2020 in Washington, DC.Photo by Oliver Contreras/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM .

President Donald Trump Source: AAP

Twitter on Tuesday for the first time prompted readers to check the facts in tweets sent by US President Donald Trump, warning readers his claims about mail-in ballots were false and had been debunked by fact-checkers.

The blue exclamation mark notification prompted readers to “get the facts about mail-in ballots” and directed them to a page with news articles and information from fact-checkers about the claims.

A Twitter spokesperson told CNBC that the tweets “contain potentially misleading information about voting processes and have been labeled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots.”
“Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud,” a headline at the top of the page said.

Mr Trump had claimed in tweets earlier in the day that mail-in ballots would be “substantially fraudulent” and result in a “rigged election.” He also singled out the governor of California over the issue, although the state is not the only one to use mail-in ballots.

Twitter confirmed this was the first time it had applied a label to a tweet by the president under its new “misleading information” policy, introduced earlier in the month.

 


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Source: Reuters, SBS


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