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Oh, So NOW Twitter Cares About Tweets Wishing Someone Was Dead?

Apparently First Amendment rights only apply to nazis and white supremacists.
Image of Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea Steiner
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Published: Oct 3, 2020 12:27 pm

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After 14 years of repeated attacks, death threats, and doxxing of women, POC, and other marginalized groups, Twitter is now ready to enforce its own rules. The social media giant, which has always cited the First Amendment in its absurd defense of nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups, tweeted that users are not allowed to openly hope for President Trump’s death in the wake of his COVID-19 diagnosis. In a tweet posted from @TwitterComms, Twitter announced “tweets that wish or hope for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against *anyone* are not allowed and will need to be removed. this does not automatically mean suspension.”

In a statement to VICE’s Motherboard, a spokesperson for Twitter said that tweets rooting for Trump’s death “will have to be removed” and that user’s accounts may be put into a “read only” mode.

“Content that wishes, hopes or expresses a desire for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against an individual is against our rules,” Twitter said. Twitter cites the new enforcement policy as part of their “abusive behavior” rule that’s been in their code of conduct since April, which reads “content that wishes, hopes or expresses a desire for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against an individual.” They added that they “won’t take enforcement action on every Tweet. We’re prioritizing the removal of content when it has a clear call to action that could potentially cause real-world harm.”

Twitter is facing major backlash after suddenly deciding to enforce their code of conduct. Twitter which has a lengthy policy on hateful conduct, has nevertheless allowed hateful speech and imagery to flourish on their site. Women, POC, journalists, and LGBTQ+ folks have been relentlessly harassed, threatened, and stalked with little to no recourse from Twitter. And they have BEGGED for Twitter to take these threats seriously and to do something about the thriving white supremacist community on their site. But the rules only apply when you’re the president, I guess.

Many took to Twitter to call out the site’s hypocrisy, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib:

Since Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, countless people have taken to Twitter to express joy and schadenfreude at the president’s predicament. Many have sarcastically tweeted the “thoughts and prayers” party line that republicans frequently fall back on. Others are commenting on the rank hypocrisy of the the president who, just days ago, mocked democratic nominee Joe Biden for wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. After all, Trump has done nothing but downplay, ignore, and spread misinformation about the virus that has killed nearly 205,000 Americans and infected millions more.

Get dunked on via Twitter is honestly the very least he deserves.

(via VICE Motherboard, featured image: Pexels)

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Author
Image of Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.
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