UPDATE:
Facebook released a memo saying they are removing content that:
- Praise and support of the storming of the US Capitol
- Calls to bring weapons to locations across the US — not just in Washington but anywhere in the US — including protests
- Incitement or encouragement of the events at the Capitol, including videos and photos from the protestors. At this point they represent promotion of criminal activity which violates our policies.
- Calls for protests — even peaceful ones — if they violate the curfew in DC
- Attempts to restage violence tomorrow or in the coming days
They also deleted Trump's video on Facebook and Instagram.
The platforms are also changing their labels on videos to: “Joe Biden has been elected President with results that were certified by all 50 states. The US has laws, procedures, and established institutions to ensure the peaceful transfer of power after an election.”
ORIGINAL POST:
Big Tech is out to suppress President Donald Trump's video message to his supporters who have flocked to Washington, D.C. to protest the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Not long after the video was posted, Twitter censored it, preventing users from replying or retweeting the video. Eventually, the social media platform deleted the video all together, along with two of the president's other tweets.
According to the social media giant, Trump's tweets had "repeated and severe violations" of the company's "Civic Integrity policy."
As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy. https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
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This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
The company also threatened to permanently boot President Trump from their platform should "future violations" take place.
Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
Our public interest policy — which has guided our enforcement action in this area for years — ends where we believe the risk of harm is higher and/or more severe.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
https://t.co/ZcbhDEAYjH
We’ll continue to evaluate the situation in real time, including examining activity on the ground and statements made off Twitter. We will keep the public informed, including if further escalation in our enforcement approach is necessary.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
Facebook also pulled the video because of the content.
"We prohibit incitement and calls for violence on our platform," a Facebook spokesperson told ABC News. "We are actively reviewing and removing any content that breaks these rules.”
YouTube made the same move.
"We removed a video posted this afternoon to Donald Trump’s channel that violated our policies regarding content that alleges widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Election," Farshad Shadloo, YouTube's head of Policy Communications, said in a statement to ABC News.
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