News

People want Trump banned from Twitter after he threatened nuclear war

Picture:
Picture:
Getty Images / Chip Somodevilla / Staff

Twitter seems to think that Donald Trump's latest provocative tweet, which many argue threatens nuclear war, is absolutely fine.

Twitter defended its decision not to act on Donald Trump's tweet as a violation of its guidelines, despite the President claiming in the tweet that he had a "nuclear button" that is "bigger and more powerful" than Kim Jong Un's.

The boastful message came in response to the North Korean leader's New Year's Day speech, in which he said that a "nuclear button is always on my desk".​

Perhaps understandably, users were not happy to find a not-at-all-veiled nuclear threat among the dog GIFs, celebrity selfies and political squabbles on their feeds, and some reported it.

Even the Director of Social Media at the White House, Dan Scavino, got involved after CNN's Brian Stelter asking if the President's tweet violated Twitter's terms of service.

Scavino tweeted:

Twitter has said that Trump's tweet doesn't violate its terms of service because it does not amount to a "specific threat", according to Business Insider.

This is outlined in Twitter's policy:

You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people.

You might wonder what Twitter does frown upon, if threatening the potential death of millions isn't it.

It turns out that there seems to be a rule that protects the President.

As reported by Business Insider, the policy that gives the President immunity reads:

This policy does not apply to military or government entities and we will consider exceptions for groups that are currently engaging in (or have engaged in) peaceful resolution.

However, CNN's Stelter questioned whether another world leader would be let off so easily.

While Twitter was apparently unconcerned, others remained unimpressed by the President's big button boasting.

More: Donald Trump is now more likely to be impeached than to complete his full term as President

The Conversation (0)
x