Twitter just explained why it won't block Trump for tweets that North Korea considers a declaration of war
Ahn Young-joon/AP
On Monday, after a Trump tweet threatened that North Korea might not "be around much longer," Twitter was forced to explain why the President was not banned from the service.
In a six-part tweet from Twitter's public policy account, the company argued that Trump's speech was newsworthy and of "public interest," but said that it was planning to update its policy soon.
Trump's tweet came at time of heightened international tensions, as North Korea threatens to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. North Korea said on Monday that Trump's tweet was a declaration of war.
President Trump's tweets have long posed a challenge for Twitter's terms of use. Throughout the 2016 presidential election and his presidency, Trump has used the platform to call out individuals and corporations that he opposes, and to introduce new items of public policy.
Under its existing policy, Twitter reserves the right to remove content and disable accounts that post violent threats or harassment.
The company has left up Trump's tweet about North Korea because of its "newsworthiness" and "public interest value" - two factors which are taken into account for all content considered otherwise in violation of the company's content policy.
In response to criticism about its inconsistency, Twitter said that it would update its public-facing policy to better reflect what has long been an internal policy.
On Saturday, President Trump sent out a tweet, which had many concerned could lead to heightened international discord with North Korea. In the tweet, he wrote that if North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho echoes similar nuclear ambitions as North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, then "they won't be around much longer!"
On Monday, Yong Ho told reporters that North Korea considers Trump's tweet to be a declaration of war, and that his country can thus legally shoot down US military planes, according to NPR.
Read the full response from Twitter's pubic policy group here:
Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
THREAD: Some of you have been asking why we haven't taken down the Tweet mentioned here: https://t.co/CecwG0qHmq 1/6
- Twitter PublicPolicy (@Policy) September 25, 2017
We hold all accounts to the same Rules, and consider a number of factors when assessing whether Tweets violate our Rules 2/6
- Twitter PublicPolicy (@Policy) September 25, 2017
Among the considerations is "newsworthiness" and whether a Tweet is of public interest 3/6
- Twitter PublicPolicy (@Policy) September 25, 2017
This has long been internal policy and we'll soon update our public-facing rules to reflect it. We need to do better on this, and will 4/6
- Twitter PublicPolicy (@Policy) September 25, 2017
Twitter is committed to transparency and keeping people informed about what's happening in the world 5/6
- Twitter PublicPolicy (@Policy) September 25, 2017
We'll continue to be guided by these fundamental principles 6/6
- Twitter PublicPolicy (@Policy) September 25, 2017
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