On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order intending to roll back legal protections for social media companies. The order makes it easier for social media platforms to bear legal blame for content published on their sites. In essence, this means that some content could be considered the publication of the social media site, not a private citizen’s publication.
This comes amid an ongoing feud Trump is engaged in with social media site Twitter. The 280-character-limited site has been Trump’s favorite social media platform for years. Recently, however, Twitter has taken the steps of adding fact-checking banners to two of Trump’s tweets, and a “violent speech warning” to another. This has incensed the president, who is now accusing the site of have an anti-conservative bias.
For years, Trump has used Twitter to bully opponents, rake mud on public figures, and spread misinformation. One such example, recently, was a pair of tweets that alleged, without evidence, that mail-in voting is prone to fraud. Twitter added a fact-checking banner that debunked Trump’s claims, drawing his ire.
The following day, protests in Minneapolis over the death of an unarmed man at the hands of police boiled over. As protesters tear through the city, everything from window repair to plumbing repair will be needed in the aftermath.
Then, Trump sent out a tweet that reads “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
Twitter quickly slapped a violent speech warning on Trump’s tweet. The platform noted that, while it doesn’t remove posts by world leaders that otherwise violate their terms of service, Trump’s tweet was extreme enough to merit a warning. The platform left the message up “based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.”
Trump’s line is a direct quote from Walter E. Headley, a man who was the chief of Miami Police in the 1960s. In 1967, Headley held a press conference where he announced a “get tough” campaign. During the announcement, he stated, “We haven’t had any serious problems with civil uprising and looting, because I’ve let the word filter down that when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
“We don’t mind being accused of police brutality,” Headley told reporters during that announcement. “They haven’t seen anything yet.”
Headley’s comments received widespread condemnation from Civil Rights activists and leaders, during the height of tensions in that era. As such, Trump’s choice of wording, purposefully or not, underscores deep racial inequality and a long history of police brutality.
