President Donald Trump has a rocky relationship with Twitter. In the past couple of days, he’s been in news for many things, but now things are just getting out of control.

We’re all aware of the racist bigotry that occurred two days ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The scar of losing George Floyd to a vindictive act of hate was still hurting when Donald Trump posted this tweet.

 

What happens when the President of America posts a tweet that glorifies violence?

Obviously, his Tweet raised many eyebrows and sentiments were hurt. The tweet violated the policies of Twitter, as a result of which, a warning label has been affixed to it. It is interesting to notice that it’s the first time a severe action like this has taken place against the account of the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

According to the policies, the tweet will not be removed from the platform. However, keeping the public’s interest in mind, users won’t be able to reply, like, or retweet this insensitive tweet. Furthermore, they will only be able to view it if they purposely choose to click on it.

Twitter’s official statement:

As is standard with this notice, engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Retweet with Comment, but will not be able to Like, Reply or Retweet it.

The post was targeted towards the protests that have occurred following the tragic death of George Floyd – the boy who said that he couldn’t breathe.

It’s been three days since a white police officer used his knee to pin down a black boy – an act of cruelty that resulted in his death. The boy audibly made complains regarding his breathing difficulty but was met with utmost disregard and hatred.

Source: Al Jazeera

As a result, the community felt enraged and discriminated against. They turned to the streets to show their anger towards such indignity. News channels flashed images of fires and destruction in Minneapolis after which the president made this tweet.

His phrase “when looting starts, the shooting starts” embodies the language used by the Miami police chief in the late 1960s against the riots. As soon as he posted this tweet, historians and political figures began to condemn it.

Twitter was quick to take action and flagged it in less than two hours.

“We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the Tweet on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the Tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance.” – read the statement.

Not to mention, it was only yesterday when the president signed the executive order that purported to inscribe “censorship” by social media websites.