Reuters:
Twitter Inc on Tuesday placed a warning notice on a tweet by President Donald Trump threatening “serious force” against protesters in the U.S. capital, the second time it has used the label since it began challenging Trump’s tweets in May.
“There will never be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!” the president said in his tweet, which Twitter said violated its policy against abusive behavior.
Trump posted the message after anti-racism protesters on Monday declared a “Black House Autonomous Zone” — referencing a Seattle area taken over by activists known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) or Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone — in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church near the White House.
A Twitter spokeswoman said teams within the company’s safety division informed Chief Executive Jack Dorsey of the decision before applying the notice.
Facebook, which has taken a more hands-off approach to speech by political leaders, left the same post untouched.
At least 150,000 people had liked Trump’s tweet and 33,000 retweeted it before Twitter restricted engagement, according to the most recent image captured by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. His post on Facebook received 12,000 comments.
