A new flurry of tweets from President Trump is pushing the limits of social platform policies designed explicitly to keep users safe from the spread of the novel coronavirus, both online and off.<\/p>\n
In a series of rapid-fire messages on Friday morning, Trump issued a call to \u201cLIBERATE\u201d Virginia, Minnesota and Michigan<\/a>, all states led by Democratic governors. Trump\u2019s tweets promoted protests in those states<\/a> against ongoing public safety measures, many designed by his own administration, meant to keep residents safe from the virus. Trump also shared the messages on his Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the case of Minnesota, the tweet was not a generic message to his supporters in the state \u2014 it referenced a Friday protest event by its name, \u201cLiberate Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n LIBERATE MINNESOTA!<\/p>\n \u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!<\/p>\n \u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n In Minnesota, the in-person protest event gathered a group of Trump supporters outside the St. Paul home of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to protest the state\u2019s ongoing lockdown. According to a reporter on the scene Friday, the protest had attracted attendees in the \u201clow hundreds\u201d so far and few were practicing social distancing<\/a> or wearing masks. The event was organized on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scheduled start time was noon and the crowd looks to be in the low hundreds. This is *only* an eyeball estimate. There\u2019s also a fair number of drivebys \u2013 vehicles with flags or writing on the sides driving down Summit, honking, waving to protesters.<\/p>\n \u2014 Patrick Condon (@patricktcondon) April 17, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cPresident Trump has been very clear that we must get America back to work very quickly or the \u2018cure\u2019 to this terrible disease may be the worse option!,\u201d the event\u2019s Facebook <\/a> description states. In a later disclaimer, event organizers encourage attendees to exercise \u201cpersonal responsibility\u201d at the protest, stating that they \u201care not responsible for your current health situation or future health.\u201d<\/p>\n The president\u2019s tweets contradict his administration\u2019s own guidance, detailed yesterday<\/a> in coordination with health experts, on reopening state economies. Earlier this week, Trump claimed that a president has \u201ctotal authority\u201d to reopen the national economy, a sentiment that his tweets Friday appeared to undermine.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s calls to action in support of state-based protests would also appear to potentially contradict both Twitter <\/a> and Facebook\u2019s new rules specific to the pandemic, which in both cases explicitly forbid any COVID-19 content that could result in the real-world spread of the virus.<\/p>\n Over the last month, Facebook and Twitter both rolled out relatively aggressive new policies designed to protect users from content contradicting the guidance of health experts, particularly anything that could result in real-world harm.<\/p>\n Update: <\/strong>According to a Twitter spokesperson, the president\u2019s tweets do not currently violate Twitter\u2019s rules. Twitter does not consider the tweets as worded a \u201cclear call to action\u201d that could pose a health risk. Twitter also did not determine that the tweets were shared with harmful intentions.<\/em><\/p>\n Facebook did not provide answers to questions about the protests organized on its platform by the time of publication.<\/p>\n In late March, Twitter updated its safety policy<\/a> to prohibit any tweets that \u201ccould place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19.\u201d The stance banned tweets claiming social distancing doesn\u2019t work as well as anything with a \u201ccall to action\u201d that could promote risky behaviors, like encouraging people to go out to a local bar.<\/p>\n On April 1, Twitter again broadened its definition<\/a> for the kind of harmful COVID-19 content it forbids, stating that it would \u201ccontinue to prioritize removing content when it has a clear call to action that could directly pose a risk to people\u2019s health or well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n Facebook similarly\u00a0expanded its platform rules<\/a> to match the existential health threat posed by the coronavirus. In guidance on its policies for the pandemic, Facebook says that it \u201cremove[s] COVID-19 related misinformation that could contribute to imminent physical harm.\u201d As an example, the company noted that in March it began removing \u201cclaims that physical distancing doesn\u2019t help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.\u201d<\/p>\n Social media companies signaled early in the U.S. spread of the coronavirus that they would take health misinformation \u2014 and the safety of their users \u2014 more seriously than ever. In some instances, this tough talk appears to have manifested in improvements: Facebook, which has generally been more proactive about health misinformation compared to other topics, moved to promote health expertise<\/a> and limit the spread of misleading coronavirus content on the platform, even announcing that it would notify anyone who had interacted with COVID-19 misinformation with a special message in their news feed<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n
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