Twitter has banned Donald Trump Jr., the US president's eldest son, from tweeting for 12 hours after he posted a video about the benefits of hydroxychloroquine.
Twitter said Donald Trump Jr. violated its Covid-19 misinformation rules by posting the hydroxychloroquine video. Trump Jr. will still be able to browse Twitter and send direct messages while the suspension is in effect.
Twitter said: "We are taking action in line with our policy."
Twitter and hydroxychloroquine
Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, has been touted by some, including President Trump, as a preventative measure against coronavirus despite studies demonstrating that it does not.
Recently, major social media sites in the US have taken action to curb misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Andy Surabian, a spokesman for Donald Trump Jr. called Twitter's decision as "beyond the pale".
Surabian said: "Twitter suspending Don Jr for sharing a viral video of medical professionals discussing their views on hydroxychloroquine is further proof that big tech is intent on killing free expression online, and is another instance of them committing election interference to stifle Republican voices."
"While there is indeed much disagreement in the medical community about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in treating coronavirus, there have been studies reported by mainstream outlets like CNN, suggesting that it may in fact by an effective treatment," he pointed out.
"Those pretending otherwise are lying for political reasons," he added.
Clash with President Trump
While this was the latest move by Twitter in its effort to crack down on coronavirus misinformation, it is also the latest rift between the social media firm and President Trump and his allies.
In May, the microblogging site was criticized by conservatives after it placed a fact-check label on tweets by Trump about mail-in ballots.
The said tweets included false claims that the governor of California was sending out mail-in ballots to “anyone living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there.”
Trump wrote: “There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent.”
They were labeled with a message urging users to "Get the facts about mail-in ballots," which was directly linked to a curated fact-checking page containing journalists and news article summaries debunking the claim.
Twitter chief executive officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey wrote: "Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves. More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions."
In response to Twitter’s actions, Trump threatened to "strongly regulate" or even "close down" social media platforms. He claimed that Republicans felt the platforms "totally silence conservatives" and that he would not allow this to happen.
Later that month, Twitter also hid one of the tweets by US President Donald Trump from his profile for violating rules about glorifying violence.
Instead of deleting the post for violating rules about glorifying violence, Twitter replaced the Trump tweet with a warning which can be viewed upon clicking on it.
The warning reads: “Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
The president tweeted: “I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right…..”
He follows this with the post hidden by Twitter, which reads: “….These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
