Twitter warned users that it would remove posts wishing for President Donald Trump’s death after he announced his positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
While initial reports claim that the social media platform would suspend accounts that posted such messages, the company clarified that the act does not merit immediate suspension.
“[T]weets that wish or hope for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against *anyone* are not allowed and will need to be removed. this [sic] does not automatically mean suspension,” Twitter posted from its communication account.
The platform was flooded with posts bashing the President after he announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.
However, they reminded that such posts fall under its abusive behavior policy, which specifies that users “may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so.”
“We consider abusive behavior an attempt to harass, intimidate, or silence someone else’s voice,” Twitter added.
“This includes, but is not limited to: Hoping that someone dies as a result of a serious disease e.g., ‘I hope you get cancer and die.’”
One Twitter official admitted that they “won’t take enforcement action on every Tweet.”
“We’re prioritizing the removal of content when it has a clear call to action that could potentially cause real-world harm,” the official said.
Some Twitter users seemed to provoke the platform’s announcement, and poked fun at the company for their failure to keep their promises.
Some users cite that the said rule had been violated repeatedly in other topics such as racism, with one pointed that moderators said “no violation found” when she reported an account that threatened to “beat me to death.”
Meanwhile, Democrats made several statements wishing for the president’s recovery.
“Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery,” wrote former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.”