A day after Twitter added a fact-check warning to the United States President Donald Trump’s tweets on mail-in ballots, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded by saying that the social media platform will continue to point out incorrect information about elections across the globe.
Dorsey was responding to a statement made by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in which he said that the “privately-owned digital platforms should not act as the “arbiter of truth.”
Dorsey further said that he is responsible for the company’s actions and that the employees should be left out of it.
Responding to Zuckerberg’s statement that private digital platforms shouldn’t be the “arbiter of truth,” Dorsey tweeted, “This does not make us an “arbiter of truth.” Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves. More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions.”
FACEBOOK’S REACTION TO TWITTER AND TRUMP’S THREATS
In an interview to Fox News, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a dig at Twitter’s move and said that “privately-owned digital platforms should not act as the "arbiter of truth."
"We have a different policy than, I think, Twitter on this," he added.
Regarding Trump’s threats to social media platforms, Zuckerberg said that he needs to understand what the government actually intends to do.
"But in general, I think a government choosing to censor a platform because they are worried about censorship doesn't exactly strike me as the right reflex there,” he told Fox News.
HOW DID TRUMP REACT TO TWITTER’S MOVE?
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday, 27 May, threatened to close down social media platforms after Twitter labelled two of his tweets “unsubstantiated” and accused him of making false claims.
Trump on Wednesday, said, “Twitter has now shown that everything we have been saying about them (and their other compatriots) is correct. Big action to follow!”
He also said that the social media platform is “completely stifling free speech” and interfering in the 2020 US presidential election.
WHAT DID TWITTER DO?
On Tuesday, social media platform Twitter added a “Get the facts” link for the first time to a tweet thread on mail-in ballots shared by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
The tweets on mail-in ballots being linked to voter fraud came after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced mail-in voting in California amid coronavirus.
The “Get the facts about mail-in ballots” link directs one to an events page that contains news stories and fact-checks about Trump’s unsubstantiated claim. The events page lists the false claims and what is the truth behind them.
Regarding Trump’s tweets on mail-in ballots, a Twitter spokesperson told The Quint, “These tweets contain potentially misleading information about voting processes and have been labelled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots. This decision is in line with the approach we shared earlier this month.”
Social media platform Twitter, on 11 May, introduced new labels and warning messages to provide additional context to tweets containing misleading information.
(With inputs from Fox News)
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