Social media giants Facebook and Twitter blocked US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account @/TeamTrump for re-election campaign briefly on Wednesday. Trump had posted a video that according to Twitter and Facebook guidelines contained misinformation about Covid-19. The policies set in place by both social media companies forbid people from sharing any information about the Covid-19 pandemic that may harm people.
Trump campaign blocked from tweeting over COVID misinformation, says AFP news agency
— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2020
According to the reports, Trump posted a video of an interview he did on Wednesday with Fox News. In the video, he alleged that children were “virtually immune” from the Covid-19 infection. He said, “[Children] don’t have a problem, they just don’t have a problem.” While arguing that the schools should reopen, he added that the coronavirus does not impact them. He has seen some doctors saying that children are “totally” immune.
Nick Pacilio, the spokesperson at Twitter, said in a tweet quoting Donald Trump that the original Tweet from TeamTrump violated the Twitter Rules on Covid-19 misinformation. They have asked for its removal. The social media site did not punish the President’s account as he only retweeted it from the campaign account.
The original Tweet from @TeamTrump is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation, and we’ve required removal. https://t.co/fDPcEa9hRe
— Nick Pacilio (@NickPacilio) August 5, 2020
Tim Murtaugh, Trump campaign spokesman, blamed tech companies for being biased against President in a tweet. He said that they only enforce the rules in one direction. He also mentioned in his Tweet that Pacilio was Kamala Harris’s former press secretary. Harris is junior United States Senator since 2017 from Democratic Party.
The Twitter employee who announced to the world why the @TeamTrump account was briefly suspended is also Kamala Harris’s former press secretary.
— Tim Murtaugh – Download the Trump 2020 app today! (@TimMurtaugh) August 6, 2020
Silicon Valley is hopelessly biased against the President and only enforces the rules in one direction.
Trump Vs Twitter
Twitter has been aggressive against President Donald Trump in recent months. In May, Twitter flagged two tweets by Trump about mail-in ballots. They alleged that the tweets are spreading misinformation related to voting. They also highlighted a tweet stating it violates rules against glorifying violence. In the tweet, Trump warned rioters saying, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
According to WHO, “Evidence to date suggests that children and adolescents are less likely to get severe disease, but severe cases and death can still happen in these age groups.” Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, “based on available evidence, most children do not appear to be at higher risk for COVID-19 than adults. While some children and infants have been sick with COVID-19, adults make up most of the known cases to date.” Though most of the cases are among adults, children are not completely immune to the disease, and they should practice all the precautions and follow guidelines just like adults.
According to the CDC, the United States has reported 4,748,806 cases of Covid-19 so far, and 156,311 have lost their lives due to coronavirus.
