Twitter has added an unprecedented warning to a Trump tweet, warning users that the post “glorifies violence”.
The message was added to a post in which Mr Trump seemed to threatened that people protesting against the death of an unarmed black man in custody could be shot.
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“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence,” the message reads. “However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
Adding the warning is likely to cause yet more animosity between Twitter and Mr Trump, who has ramped up his attacks on the social network since the fact-checking messages were displayed.
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It is the first time that Twitter has applied such a warning to the president’s tweets. Twitter has said in the past that other potentially violent tweets – such as posts appearing to threaten North Korea with nuclear war – would stay visible on the site becuase they are “newsworthy”, despite the fact they would otherwise be judged to have broken the sites rules.
As well as showing a message above the tweet whenever it appears in a users’ feed, the decision means that people will not be able to reply or retweet the post.
“We have placed a public interest notice on this Tweet from Donald Trump,” Twitter said in a post on its official feed.
“This Tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.
“We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the Tweet on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the Tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance.
