Protesters call for Twitter to remove Trump over controversial tweets
Twitter has announced that US President Donald Trump will not be removed from the social networking service following mounting calls from users and protesters to ban the president for inciting violence with his controversial tweets.
A flood of messages began on social media Tuesday calling for Twitter to block Trump's tweets, with many saying they had reported Trump for violating Twitter's terms of service.
In a statement issued on Friday, Twitter did not mention Trump by name, but instead defended its decision not to censor “world leaders.”
“Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial tweets, would hide important information people should be able to see and debate,” the company wrote in a blog post.
"It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions," it added. “Elected world leaders play a critical role in that conversation because of their outsized impact on our society.”
Twitter's statement is the first time the company has addressed the uproar over Trump's tweets.
Many Trump critics have called for the president to be banned from the online platform because his outbursts could actually spark a war.
Trump's tweet on January 2 about having a “nuclear button” on his desk and threatening to use America’s nuclear weapons against North Korea caused some to accuse Trump of violating Twitter's terms of service.
Trump has also used the platform to attack political opponents and news organizations, and share anti-Muslim videos posted by a leader of a far-right British hate group.
In its posting, Twitter also seemed to address speculation that it would not block the president because his unprecedented popularity on the platform was crucial for its financial stability. "No one person's account drives Twitter’s growth, or influences these decisions," Twitter said.
On Wednesday, a group called Resistance SF held a protest outside of Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, California, to call for the resignation of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey if he does not ban Trump from using the website.
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