Twitter Adds “Glorifying Violence” Warning To Trump’s Tweet: “When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts”

May 29, 2020 Donald Trump, Racism

The New York Times reports:

Twitter said early Friday that a tweet from President Trump implying that protesters in Minneapolis could be shot violated the company’s rules against glorifying violence, in a move that threatens to escalate tensions between Mr. Trump and his favorite social media megaphone over its content policies.

The company prevented users from viewing Mr. Trump’s message without first reading a brief notice describing the rule violation. Twitter also blocked users from liking or replying to Mr. Trump’s post. But Twitter did not take the tweet down, saying it was in the public’s interest that the message remain accessible.

Twitter said that it had made its decision “based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.”

CNN reports:



His phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” mirrors language used by a Miami police chief in the late 1960s in the wake of riots. Its use was immediately condemned by a wide array of individuals, from historians to members of rival political campaigns. Some users reported the tweet to Twitter as a rule violation.

Twitter has said in the past that it makes exceptions to its rules when heads of state are involved, due to the inherently newsworthy nature of their posts. The company’s flagging of Trump’s post comes during a week of intense vitriol directed at Twitter by the tweeter-in-chief.

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