Twitter, Facebook Slap Warnings on This Trump Claim

Trump claims SCOTUS decision on Pennsylvania will lead to 'violence in the streets'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 3, 2020 4:11 AM CST
Both Twitter and Facebook Have Labeled This Trump Post Misleading
President Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Kenosha Regional Airport on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis.   (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

President Trump's latest social media warning comes from both tech giants: Twitter and Facebook have slapped labels on his post about the Supreme Court's decision on Pennsylvania ballots. "The Supreme Court decision on voting in Pennsylvania is a VERY dangerous one," Trump posted Monday night (Twitter here; Facebook here). "It will allow rampant and unchecked cheating and will undermine our entire systems of laws. It will also induce violence in the streets. Something must be done!" Twitter hid the tweet and labeled it "disputed" and possibly "misleading," while Facebook includes a warning underneath the post noting that voting, whether via mail or in person, has "a long history of trustworthiness in the US" and that voting fraud "is extremely rare across voting methods."

As Axios notes, Twitter has been more liberal with its use of warnings on Trump tweets, while Facebook has held back a bit. Twitter completely restricted user engagement with the post, while Facebook did not, allowing it to be liked and shared thousands of times. The SCOTUS decision in question was more like a lack of one; the high court declined to grant Republicans an expedited request to shorten the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots in the state. The result is that Pennsylvania can count ballots received up to three days after the election, as long as they are postmarked Tuesday, the Hill reports, noting that states have been counting ballots received after the election for decades. Politico says Trump's claim, which he repeated Monday night at a rally in Kenosha, Wis., "took things to a new level by insinuating that the Supreme Court would be responsible for violent uprisings in the wake of the election." (More Election 2020 stories.)

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