- In a tweet on Tuesday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to dispel the fun of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s meme poking.
- The meme, shared by a user with less than 200 followers, shows McConnell’s face in a photo pedestal on a Soviet soldier with the caption “Moscow Mitch.”
- Trump said lawmakers should repeal Section 230, a law that protects social networks from being held accountable for users’ posts unless they remove illegal content.
- A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider that the meme would not be removed because it did not violate any of Twitter’s rules.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “Moscow Mitch” on Tuesday in an angry meme against Twitter, questioning why the platform would not remove the image.
The meme shows that McConnell’s face was brutally edited on the body of a Soviet soldier and was shared by an account that had only more than 100 followers.
“Why does Twitter leave out imaginary pictures like this, but take down Republican / Conservative pictures and true statements?” Trump Tweeted.
Donald J. Trump (@RealDonaldTrump) September 8, 2020
Trump has been angry for months against Twitter, which recently applied warning labels to many of his tweets that violated its policies against promoting violence and spreading false information about voting. Trump responded to those warning labels in May, notifying complaints against social-media companies and asking the Federal Communications Commission to take strict action against them.
While Trump’s executive orders were vague, he asked the FCC to reinterpret Section 230 of the Communications Descendants Act, a law that protects websites from being held liable for content that users post until they make a concerted effort to remove illegal content. .
Republicans have resorted to section 230 as a way to hit back at technology companies, and they say the rupee is targeting unscrupulous individuals with policies against misinformation. Evidence does not support that theory – data shows that affiliate pages consistently generate the most engagement on social-media sites.
Trump tagged Republican Sen. Josh Haley in his tweet on Tuesday. Howell introduced legislation in June that would strip tech companies of their legal immunity under section 230 unless they could prove they were “politically neutral.” He recently introduced a bill that would make tech companies more sensitive to claims by users who believe unfairly enforcing the users online rules.
– Josh Holly (@Howlimo) September 8, 2020
Experts say most social-media companies cannot afford the legal costs associated with maintaining an open forum if Article 230 protections are repealed altogether.
A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider that the meme would not be removed because it did not violate any of Twitter’s rules. Twitter Policy Only content that is intended to deceive people is banned on manipulated media; Clear satire is generally valid on the platform.
Trump is not the first world leader to try to dismiss memes criticizing his party. In 2018, China banned all men online mentions of Winnie the Pooh, then memes were widely shared comparing cartoon bears with President Xi Jinping. In Russia, those who attend President Vladimir Putin’s memento in drag makeup may face jail time.
The “Moscow Mitch” memoir in question was created by graphic designer Peter Heaney of Ariontario, which Political memes post regularly On Twitter. Although he is a Canadian citizen, Haney hopes Trump loses the election again, he told Business Insider.
“I can’t tell you how happy I was to see the President of the United States retweet a composition of my choice today,” Haney said in an email to Business Insider. “It was a pleasure to do my part to help get rid of Trump’s nightmare of America on November 3rd.”
