Since officially entering the world of politics, Donald Trump’s Twitter account has become a clear avenue to see what he’s thinking (and seeing on Fox News), and while there is a tweet for everything, his use of the social media platform has attracted a lot of attention for announcing policy, disseminating fake news, passing along problematic memes from places like Reddit and 4chan, attacking his political opponents, and making vague reference to launching a nuclear strike against North Korea. While Trump’s behavior on Twitter can be described as anything from laughable to frightening, it’s not going to be stopping anytime soon.
After months of complaints about his use of the platform, Twitter is now publicly stating it’s policy, and they’re not deleting his tweets or banning world leaders because his Twitter account provides information that the public needs to see:
“Elected world leaders play a critical role in that conversation because of their outsized impact on our society. Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets, would hide important information people should be able to see and debate. It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions.”
In their statement, Twitter left open the possibility for future action against Trump by saying that tweets by world leaders are still reviewed and need to follow the site’s rules and terms of service. Read the full statement below, via MSNBC.
JUST IN: Twitter statement on world leaders' use of Twitter:
"Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets, would hide important information people should be able to see and debate." pic.twitter.com/j4gC33BUL3
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 5, 2018