President Trump on Saturday once again prompted Twitter and Facebook to each intervene after he posted on their platforms that people should vote by mail and then potentially again in person.
Twitter and Facebook both acted on identical posts made on their platforms by Mr. Trump that encouraged voters in North Carolina to vote twice in the presidential election.
“To make sure your Ballot COUNTS, sign & send it in EARLY. When Polls open, go to your Polling Place to see if it was COUNTED. IF NOT, VOTE!” Mr. Trump posted in part on the platforms.
Twitter added a notice to Mr. Trump’s post, or tweet, saying it violates the company’s rules for civic and election integrity but will remain on the platform with certain restrictions in place.
Users cannot “like” or reply to the tweet, and it can only be shared, or retweeted, if being quoted, according to the restrictions Twitter put in place.
Mr. Trump’s tweet encouraged “people to potentially vote twice,” Twitter explained, adding: “Voting twice is illegal in North Carolina.”
“To protect people on Twitter, we err on the side of limiting the circulation of Tweets which advise people to take actions which could be illegal in the context of voting or result in the invalidation of their votes,” explained Twitter.
Facebook was also letting Mr. Trump’s post remain on its social network, but it placed a notice alongside it telling users that voting by mail “has a long history of trustworthiness.” Users can still comment and share it.
The latest actions Twitter and Facebook each took in response to the president are identical to how they handled a similarly-worded attack on mail-in voting he posted on the platforms Sept. 4.
Millions of Americans are expected to vote by mail in the race between Republican incumbent Mr. Trump and Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden as a result of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.
The president has repeatedly attacked voting by mail in recent weeks, and he has claimed it will result in widespread fraud contrary to election officials saying those fears are unfounded.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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