Twitter is dead set on blocking President Donald Trump on the platform, even when he’s mourning the death of George Floyd.
Twitter “disabled” a video by the Trump reelection campaign, alleging a copyright violation. The “Healing, not Hatred” video in question called for reconciliation and an end to violence in America’s streets. The video, narrated by Trump himself, mourned the death of Minneapolis citizen George Floyd in police custody: “It should never have happened. It has filled Americans all over the country with horror, anger and grief.”
Twitter “disabled” the Trump campaign’s George Floyd tribute video on Thursday, replacing it with a notification that read: “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.”
Trump took time in the video to voice his support for peaceful protesters: “We support the right of peaceful protestors,and we hear their pleas. The voices of law-abiding citizens must be heard, and heard very loudly.” He pledged: “We will stand with the family of George Floyd, with the peaceful protestors, and with every law-abiding citizen who wants decency, civility, safety, and security.”
Trump then condemned violent “rioters, looters, and anarchists,” who he claimed were being led by Antifa and were dishonoring Floyd’s memory. Trump also called out “the small handful” of law enforcement officers “who fail to abide by their oath to serve and protect.”
“The Trump campaign says it reached out to Twitter to ask who had complained about the video and how it had run afoul of the website’s copyright policy,” The Hill reported.
Trump campaign spokesman Andrew Clark said, according to The Hill, “This incident is yet another reminder that Twitter is making up the rules as they go along,"
Clark blasted Twitter’s history of selectively enforcing its rules:
"This incident is yet another reminder that Twitter is making up the rules as they go along. From the dubious removal of the hilarious Nickelback video to capricious fact checks and manipulated media labels to questionable claims of copyright, Twitter has repeatedly failed to explain why their rules seem to only apply to the Trump campaign but not to others. Censoring out the president’s important message of unity around the George Floyd protests is an unfortunate escalation of this double standard.”
A Twitter spokesperson reportedly told The Hill that it “received a complaint from a copyright owner of at least one of the images in the video, although it’s unclear which one.”
According to The Hill, “Harvard University's Lumen Database, a third-party research group Twitter uses to study cease and desist letters, reviewed the complaint and found it to be valid under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”
