Twitter labels Trump tweet about mail-in voting for being 'potentially misleading'
The social network says the action is in line with its rules about civic integrity and elections.
- Carrie has lived on both coasts and can definitively say that Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are the best.
In California, a vote-by-mail ballot will be mailed to each voter prior to the Nov. 3, 2020, elections, in addition to option of in-person voting locations.
Twitter on Thursday added a label to a tweet from President Donald Trump that the social media company said contained a "potentially misleading statement" about mail-in voting.
"We've added a label to this Tweet for making a potentially misleading statement regarding the process of mail-in voting, and to offer more context for anyone who may see the Tweet," said Twitter's safety team on Thursday. "This action is in line with our recently-updated Civic Integrity Policy."
That civic integrity policy focuses on Twitter cracking down on tweets that could misinform people about voting or disrupt the election.
We’ve added a label to this Tweet for making a potentially misleading statement regarding the process of mail-in voting, and to offer more context for anyone who may see the Tweet. This action is in line with our recently-updated Civic Integrity Policy. https://t.co/aRbnblUUEO
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 17, 2020
In a tweet on Thursday, Trump claimed that the November election results may never be accurately determined because of the "unprecedented massive amount of unsolicited ballots which will be sent to 'voters,' or wherever." A label now appears below the tweet that reads "Learn how voting by mail is safe and secure" and links to a page with information about voting and the election.
Twitter added the same label to a follow-up tweet from the president on Thursday.
Despite election officials and the FBI saying it's almost impossible to pull off fraud via mail-in ballots, Trump continues to attack mail-in voting, claiming that it will lead to a chaotic Election Day outcome.
Twitter has labeled several of Trump's tweets before for containing misinformation about voting and violating the site's other rules, including strictures against glorifying violence. Some tweets from politicians that violate the site's rules are labeled but left up because of public interest. Twitter has also halted political ads.
Trump also lashed out at Twitter on Thursday. Without providing evidence, Trump accused the social network of intentionally promoting negative news about him in Twitter's trending section, an accusation the president has made before. Twitter earlier this month began adding more context to trending topics on the platform through representative tweets and curated descriptions.