Donald Trump today accused Twitter of “conservative discrimination” while once again criticizing how topics are evolving on the platform.
In a series of tweets, the outgoing president also proposed a law that would revoke the legal exemption for social media companies from illegal content uploaded by users for reasons of national security – section 230.
“Twitter is sending completely fake‘ Trends ’that have nothing to do with what’s really a trend in the world,” Trump wrote on Friday.
“They make it up, and it’s just negative ‘things.’ It’s the same thing with Twitter as it is with @FoxNews during the day. It’s also big conservative discrimination.”
In his second post on doubling threats to the law, he added: “In the interests of national security, Article 230 should be repealed immediately !!!”
In his tweet, Trump did not clarify why Section 230 should be considered a national security issue. Comments were written to the White House at Newsweek.
There is no evidence that Twitter is manipulating or falsifying trends, but this is by no means the first time Trump has questioned how the website’s algorithms work.
Twitter sends completely fake “Trends” that have nothing to do with what is really a trend in the world. They make up and are just negative “stuff”. The same thing happens with Twitter as it is @Fox news during the day. Also big conservative discrimination!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2020
For national security purposes, Section 230 must be abolished immediately !!!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2020
According to Twitter, trend results are tailored to the user, based on who the person is following, their area of interest, and location. “This algorithm identifies topics that are currently popular, not topics that have been popular for a while or on a daily basis to make it easier to explore the hottest topics in the discussion on Twitter,” a blog explains.
But Trump has repeatedly suggested that the algorithms be put against him while making vague references to section 230 of the 1996 Communication Decency Act of 1996, which helps Facebook and Twitter in their current form.
“Why isn’t Biden corruption number one on Twitter? It’s the biggest story in the world, and it’s nowhere to be found. There’s no ‘trend,’ just negative stories that Twitter wants to put up. It’s a shame! Section 230,” the president tweeted on October 28. .
Earlier this month, Trump said Twitter was “uncontrollable” after posting tags on dozens of posts, warning other users that they contained misinformation.
In September, the president indicated in a tweet that his administration was studying the trend section because it was “so obvious” that it contained bad or false stories about it.
In May, he said Twitter was not fighting the “lies and propaganda” of the “Radical Left Democratic Party” and again threatened to withdraw 230. That same month, Trump issued an enforcement order stating that the scope of the law should be “clarified.” “
The legal threat was formulated by the Trump government to prevent online censorship for companies that were able to silence, censor or repress.
The order stated: “Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have enormous – if not unprecedented – power to shape the interpretation of public events; to censor, delete or dispose of data; and to control what people see or what not.”
Experts noted that there is a problem with the plan, especially that the withdrawal of protection will force social networks to be more cautious about content posted on their platforms in the United States, which more censorship and enforcement, no less.
Nonetheless, there is a growing debate around Section 230 and whether it remains appropriate in the modern Internet age among both Democrats and Republicans.
President-elect Joe Biden, for his part, has previously suggested it be withdrawn as social networks, particularly Facebook, spread viral misinformation.
The consequences of repealing the law, an unlikely approach, could be far-reaching and felt on any website, experts said earlier Newsweek. It protects YouTube uploads, Amazon user reviews, blogs, forums, and any site used to post classified ads.
Erin Schaff-Pool / Getty
