Twitter will no longer give political leaders free rein to rant on the social-media platform. The move appears to be a response to complaints from users that President Donald Trump frequently violates the site’s rules prohibiting “harassment,” “hateful conduct, “the glorification of violence” and other such behavior.

Trump has posted tweets that appear to go beyond the bounds of Twitter’s user agreement, leading critics to inundate Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey with tweets demanding that the president face consequences like anyone else.

US President @realDonaldTrump tweets 'juvenile' fake wrestling video of him beating up CNN https://t.co/P7Uq8fUh5k pic.twitter.com/yO5HKVGNxF — ABC News (@abcnews) July 3, 2017

When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018

Twitter will not suspend or ban the accounts of political candidates and government officials with large followings when they break its rules, the Washington Post reports. Instead, it will hide offending tweets behind a warning label that states: “The Twitter Rules about abusive behavior apply to this Tweet. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain available.”

Users will have to click on the warning to see the hidden tweet. The labels will only be applied to political figures who have more than 100,000 followers. Twitter plans to use the warning labels only on “rare occasions.”

Some of the president’s supporters reacted with outrage and derision.

“I’ve got to say, that sounds like censorship to me,” Fox News host Stuart Varney said on the air.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., insisted the new policy will be a slippery slope. He tweeted:

“If they can do it to the Leader of the Free World imagine what they are doing to you and your voice!”

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

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