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A12 TECHNOLOGY
Thursday 26 November 2020
Q&A: Will Twitter, Facebook crack down on Trump?

By BARBARA ORTUTAY This means a label applied
AP Technology Writer to a tweet just 15 minutes
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — For after it is sent is already too
the past four years, Presi- late. Facebook is less im-
dent Donald Trump has mediate, but the risk comes
enjoyed the special status with spread. If a post is la-
of a world leader on Twit- beled but can continue to
ter and Facebook, even as spread, it's not enough.
he used his perch atop the ___
social media pyramid to WHAT WILL HAPPEN ONCE
peddle misinformation and BIDEN IS INAUGURATED?
hurl abuse at his critics. Trump will return to being a
While regular users could private citizen, and at least
have faced being sus- on paper be subject to
pended or even booted the platforms' official rules,
from the platforms, Trump's like any other user. Twit-
misleading proclamations ter's rules exempt "world
and personal attacks have leaders" from some of its
thus far only garnered rules, such as those barring
warning labels. glorification of violence or
But could his loose leash on encouraging harassment.
the platforms be yanked on That means that even if
Jan. 20 when his successor, they violate the company's
Joe Biden, is inaugurated? rules, their tweets can stay
Here are some questions up behind a warning label
and answers about what (there are some exceptions
the companies have done that are prohibited even for
— and not done — why world leaders, such as pro-
Twitter's response has been In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to the moting terrorism or directly
stronger than Facebook's White House in Washington as he returns from Bedminster, N.J. threatening someone with
and what, if anything we Associated Press violence.)
might see from the plat- On Jan. 20, after Biden is in-
forms in the coming weeks of Trump's tweets and limit their spread, by plac- social media platforms, giv- augurated, Trump will lose
and months, once their retweets have been la- ing them behind warning ing only the appearance that world leader status.
most high-profile user is no beled under this policy labels and applying brakes that they're working to On Facebook, the big
longer in the White House. since Election Day. For in- in other ways before peo- safeguard against misinfor- change will be that Trump's
___ stance, one on Nov. 15 ple can spread them. mation. posts will be eligible for fact
WHY ARE SO MANY OF where he wrote "I WON THE Many of Facebook's labels, If the platforms continue to checks by third-party fact-
TRUMP'S TWEETS LABELED? ELECTION!" has a label be- which during the election allow Trump and others to checkers.
Ever since he lost his re- low it that reads "Multiple it placed on statements spread misinformation with Both Twitter and Facebook
election bid, Trump has sources called this election and images about voting no repercussions other than plan to transfer official gov-
been spreading falsehoods differently." Other false and posted by all of its U.S. us- generic labels, even label- ernment accounts to Biden
about purported election misleading tweets about ers, could be removed just ing every single post won't and his team on Inaugu-
fraud and otherwise trying voter fraud are labeled with by clicking on an "X." Both do much. In fact, if every ration Day. This includes @
to delegitimize Biden's win. "This claim about election companies changed how post is labeled, the labels POTUS and @WhiteHouse
For the most part, Twitter fraud is disputed." When they labeled Trump's claims will quickly lose whatever on Twitter and the White
and Facebook have re- clicked, users are taken to of victory after multiple impact they have. House and other accounts
sponded by adding what authoritative sources of in- news organizations, includ- Of course, both companies on Facebook and Insta-
look like warning labels to formation about election ing The Associated Press, have done more than label gram.
his statements, gently guid- results and the prevalence called the race for Biden. posts. They have encour- ___
ing people to authoritative of voter fraud, which is ex- Twitter now says "Multiple aged voting, pushed au- COULD TRUMP BE KICKED
information. ceedingly rare. sources called this election thoritative information and OFF THE PLATFORMS?
But it's not just Trump's Facebook has also put la- differently," while Facebook watched out for foreign It will be easier once he is
tweets. Twitter has labeled bels on many of Trump's names Biden as the winner. and domestic interference again considered a pri-
hundreds of thousands of post about election results. It's still possible to share or efforts. But the warnings vate citizen, but still unlike-
posts since late October Most recently, they say retweet the labeled posts have been the most visible ly. Notably, all of the fact
under its "civic integrity" "Joe Biden is the projected on both platforms, though effort: easy to see, easy checks and all of the labels
policy, flagging disputed winner of the 2020 US Presi- pop-ups try to get users to to point to and, arguably, disputing his claims don't
or potentially misleading dential Election." stop and think before do- easy to ignore. count against him when it
posts about the election, ___ ing so. The social networks' actions comes to his standing on
the voting process and the WHAT ARE FACEBOOK AND ___ were a step in the right di- either Facebook or Twitter.
results. The idea was to pre- TWITTER DOING DIFFERENT- DO THE LABELS WORK? rection, but not that effec- To face repercussions such
vent voter suppression and LY? By some measures — public tive, said Jennifer Grygiel, as suspension or perma-
premature declarations of Both companies have been relations, for sure — social a professor at Syracuse nent removal, he'd have
victory — in other words, more aggressive about la- media companies fared University and social media to violate the companies'
protect the democratic beling Trump's statements better in 2020 than they did expert. rules. This might include tar-
process in an extraordinary about election fraud and in 2016 when it comes to "Each platform has a dif- geted harassment or racist
election year complicated false claims of victory than protecting the integrity of ferent risk profile," Grygiel threats, for instance. Post-
by a pandemic that led to they have been with other the U.S. election. But critics said. In Twitter's case, the ing misinformation, unless
millions of people voting by matters of misinformation say the labels alone often risk comes from being a it's extremely specific about
mail for the first time. during his presidency. But appear to do little more real-time platform people COVID-19 or the voting pro-
On Twitter, more than 100 Twitter has done more to than provide cover for the go to for immediate news. cess, doesn't count.q