Twitter said President Trump didn’t violate its terms of service by boasting about the size of his nuclear arsenal in a tweet directed toward North Korean leader Kim Jong-un despite triggering complaints from activists demanding accountability.
Mr. Trump indicated he was capable of nuking North Korea in a tweet Tuesday evening, saying: “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ’Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”
A Twitter representative told The Washington Times that the Mr. Trump’s tweet wasn’t in violation of its terms of service.
“You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death or disease of an individual or group of people,” according to Twitter’s official policies.
Nearly a year into live-tweeting his presidency, Mr. Trump’s latest taunt served as the final straw for some activists in San Francisco, home of Twitter headquarters. The “Resistance SF” group projected the phrase “Ban @realDonaldTrump” on the outside of Twitter HQ late Tuesday and promised to return on Wednesday to protest its reluctance take action against the president’s personal account.
“Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, has enabled @realDonaldTrump from his first dog whistles in the birther movement to his latest nuclear pissing contest. @Jack is #complicit. He endangers the world and allows Trump to break his company’s own terms of service to do it,” the group said on its Facebook page Wednesday.
“As long as he is CEO of Twitter and Square, they cannot be considered moral tech companies, and the board of directors of both should do the right thing and insist that either Trump or Jack must go. Jack Dorsey brought 280 characters to Twitter, but what Twitter needs is a CEO with more character,” the group said.
Twitter rolled-out new rules prohibiting specific threats last month, but acknowledged at the time that the policy wouldn’t be universarly applied.
“This policy does not apply to military or government entities and we will consider exceptions for groups that are currently engaging in (or have engaged in) peaceful resolution,” the policies said.
Mr. Trump’s tweet Tuesday followed news reports involving a New Year’s Day speech given by his North Korean counterpart.
“The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat,” Mr. Kim reportedly said.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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