Trump, via Twitter, says social media discriminates against GOP, conservative voices

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

President Donald Trump, addressing his 53.8 million Twitter followers, charged Saturday that social media discriminates against Republican and conservative voices and that his administration would not let that happen.

"They are closing down the opinions of many people on the RIGHT, while at the same time doing nothing to others," he said on Twitter. He did not specify who "they" are.

"Speaking loudly and clearly for the Trump Administration, we won’t let that happen," he said.

The president did not elaborate on how the government might intervene.

His Saturday morning tweets follow a week in which Apple, Facebook, Spotify and YouTube have removed shows and video posted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Twitter suspended Jones from its platform for a week.

Social Media is totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices. Speaking loudly and clearly for the Trump Administration, we won’t let that happen. They are closing down the opinions of many people on the RIGHT, while at the same time doing nothing to others....... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2018

Jones most famously promoted the idea that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting never happened and was staged.

While Trump did not single out Jones, he appeared on Jones' InfoWars show in 2015 and praised him, saying, "Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down."

In July, Twitter announced it is cracking down on "incivility and intolerance" in Twitter conversations, but has not singled out any particular political viewpoint.

Among recent cases:

•Ahead of a United the Right 2 rally last week in Washington, D.C., Twitter suspended the accounts associated with Proud Boys, a right-wing group present at a 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and its founder, Gavin McInnes. A Twitter spokesperson said the accounts had been suspended from Twitter and Periscope for violating company policy "prohibiting violent extremist groups."

•In January, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., a strong Trump supporter known for his incendiary rhetoric, was briefly banned from Twitter.

•In February,Twitter banned Paul Nehlen, a Republican challenging House Speaker Paul Ryan for a congressional seat, for a racist tweet targeting American actress Meghan Markle, the then-fiancée of Prince Harry, NPR reported.

While warning social media against any crackdown, Trump said he was not suggesting putting clamps on liberal views.

"Censorship is a very dangerous thing & absolutely impossible to police. If you are weeding out Fake News, there is nothing so Fake as CNN & MSNBC, & yet I do not ask that their sick behavior be removed. I get used to it and watch with a grain of salt, or don’t watch at all."

At the same time, Trump has used his Twitter feed to try to right the alleged political imbalance. In four of the 32 tweets since Friday morning, Trump quoted Fox News anchors on such subjects as the FBI, Department of Justice and former CIA director John Brennan.