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OAKLAND, California: For the past four years, United States President Donald Trump has enjoyed special status as a world leader on Twitter and Facebook, even as he used his position at the top of the social media pyramid to sell. misinformation and insult your critics.
While regular users could have faced suspension or even kicked off the platforms, Trump’s misleading proclamations and personal attacks have so far only garnered warning labels.
But could he take off his loose strap on platforms on January 20 of next year when his successor, Joe Biden, is sworn in?
Here are some questions and answers about what companies have done, and what they haven’t done, why Twitter’s response has been stronger than Facebook’s, and what, if anything, we might see on the platforms in the coming weeks. and months once was his highlight. The user is no longer in the White House.
WHY ARE SO MANY OF TRUMP’S TWEETS LABELED?
Since losing his re-election bid, Trump has been spreading falsehoods about alleged electoral fraud and has tried to delegitimize Biden’s victory. For the most part, Twitter and Facebook have responded by adding what appear to be warning labels to their statements, gently guiding people to authoritative information.
But it’s not just Trump’s tweets. Twitter has tagged hundreds of thousands of posts since late October under its “civic integrity” policy, flagging disputed or potentially misleading posts about the election, the voting process, and the results.
The idea was to avoid voter suppression and premature declarations of victory; in other words, protecting the democratic process in an extraordinary election year complicated by a pandemic that led millions of people to vote by mail for the first time.
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On Twitter, more than 100 of Trump’s tweets and retweets have been tagged under this policy since Election Day.
For example, one on November 15, where he wrote: “I WON THE ELECTION!” Has a label underneath that reads: “Various sources called this election differently.”
Other false and misleading tweets about voter fraud are tagged with: “This claim about election fraud is in dispute.” When clicked, users are taken to authoritative sources of information about election results and the prevalence of voter fraud, which is extremely rare.
Facebook has also tagged many of Trump’s posts about the election results. More recently, they say, “Joe Biden is the projected winner of the 2020 US presidential election.”
WHAT ARE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER DOING DIFFERENTLY?
Both companies have been more aggressive in labeling Trump’s statements on voter fraud and false victory claims than on other disinformation issues during his presidency. But Twitter has done more to limit their spread, putting them behind warning labels and applying brakes in other ways before people can spread them.
Many of Facebook’s tags, which it placed on voting statements and images posted by all of its US users during the election, could be removed simply by clicking an “X”.
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Both companies changed the way they labeled Trump’s victory claims after various news organizations, including the Associated Press, called for the race for Biden.
Twitter now says: “Various sources called this election differently.” Meanwhile, Facebook names Biden as the winner.
It is still possible to share or retweet tagged posts on both platforms, although pop-ups try to make users stop and think before doing so.
DO LABELS WORK?
By some measures, public relations undoubtedly did better in 2020 than in 2016 when it came to protecting the integrity of American elections. But critics said the tags alone often appeared to do little more than cover social media platforms, giving only the appearance that they were working to protect against misinformation.
If platforms continue to allow Trump and others to spread misinformation with no repercussions other than generic tags, even tagging each post won’t do much good. In fact, if every post is tagged, the tags will quickly lose their impact.
Of course, both companies have done more than tag posts. They have encouraged voting, promoted authoritative information, and policed domestic and foreign interference efforts. But the caveats have been the most visible effort: easy to see, easy to point out, and possibly easy to ignore.
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Social media actions were a step in the right direction, but not nearly as effective, said Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University professor and social media expert.
“Each platform has a different risk profile,” said Grygiel.
In the case of Twitter, the risk comes from being a real-time platform that people turn to for immediate news. This means that a tag applied to a tweet only 15 minutes after it is sent is too late. Facebook is less immediate, but the risk comes with the spread. If a post is tagged but can continue to spread, it is not enough.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN ONCE BIDEN IS INAUGURATED?
Trump will once again be a private citizen and, at least on paper, will be subject to the official rules of the platforms, like any other user.
Twitter exempts “world leaders” from some of its rules, such as those that prohibit the glorification of violence or encourage harassment. That means that even if they violate company rules, their tweets can remain behind a warning label.
There are some exceptions that are prohibited even for world leaders, such as promoting terrorism or directly threatening someone with violence.
READ: Comment: Why Some Trump Campaign Lawyers Are Backtracking On Voter Fraud Allegations
On January 20, after Biden’s inauguration, Trump will lose that status as a world leader.
On Facebook, the big change will be that Trump’s posts will be eligible for fact-checks by third-party fact-checkers.
Both Twitter and Facebook plan to transfer official government accounts to Biden and his team on Inauguration Day. This includes @POTUS and @WhiteHouse on Twitter and the White House and other accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
COULD TRUMP GET OFF THE PLATFORMS?
It will be easier once you are considered a private citizen again, but it is still unlikely. In particular, all the fact checks and all the labels that dispute your claims do not count against you when it comes to your position on Facebook or Twitter.
To face repercussions such as suspension or permanent removal, you would have to violate company rules. This could include targeted harassment or racist threats, for example. Posting wrong information, unless it is extremely specific about COVID-19 or the voting process, does not count.
