Twitter has applied warning labels to several of President Donald Trump’s relatives and associates as it continues to battle election disinformation.
As of Friday, the social media platform has covered up posts on the accounts of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., the official page of his election campaign and that of Jason Miller, a senior advisor to the 2020 effort.
In each case, the website warns users: “Some or all of the content shared in this tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”
It says the posts have violated a civic integrity policy designed to police interference and manipulation in elections, including updates with potential to mislead people.
The president’s own Twitter account is currently littered with the warning flags, including a post claiming he “easily” won the presidency based on the “legal votes case.” In a second post, Trump accused the platform of being “out of control.”
“The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way, shape, or form, to do their job and therefore, votes accepted during this period must be determined to be ILLEGAL VOTES. U.S. Supreme Court should decide!” Trump’s latest unfounded post said.
Seven of the president’s last 16 tweets sent in the past 24 hours have been labeled, and Twitter’s moderation system has been responding quickly to his new posts.
Giuliani’s flagged tweets were spreading the Trump administration’s evidence-free spin that Democratic opponents were cheating, as ballot counts continued.
“With GOP holding Senate and gaining in House, it’s clear [president Trump] won. This election cheating is obvious and an embarrassment to our reputation throughout the world,” Giuliani said, before making a claim of “DEMOCRAT HACK CHEATING!”
Projections suggest Joe Biden is on a path to the White House, with 264 electoral votes to Trump’s 214. Votes are still being counted in several states.
The president previously said his political rivals were attempting to “steal the election,” comments that also sparked moderation on his Facebook account.
On Thursday, Twitter restricted a post from Eric Trump with the caption: “Yes, Democrats Are Trying To Steal The Election In Michigan, Wisconsin, And Pennsylvania.”
And a post by Trump Jr. was slapped with a label after asserting the president should go “to total war over this election,” saying it was the “best thing for America’s future.”
The president’s own campaign wasn’t exempt either, with multiple tweets being covered up that contained clips from a press conference held by Trump yesterday.
In one, Trump accused Democrats of mailing “millions of unsolicited ballots without any verification measures.” In another, Trump branded Detroit and Philadelphia “politically corrupt,” saying they “cannot be responsible for deciding the outcome of this race.”
Jason Miller, senior adviser to Trump’s 2020 campaign, was also flagged by Twitter after claiming that there were “numerous examples of fraud coming to light,” including dead people voting, unsolicited ballots and “legally cast ballots not being counted.”
The wave of misinformation labels comes as the Jack Dorsey-led website permanently suspended an account linked to former Trump advisor Steve Bannon.
The profile, tied to his podcast “War Room: Pandemic”, was removed as video footage spread across Twitter yesterday in which Bannon implied that top scientist Anthony Fauci and FBI director Christopher Wray should be beheaded.
YouTube has removed the podcast episode in question for breaking its policies about inciting violence.
