Twitter said Thursday that it is blocking “Uncle Tim” from trending on its platform after its use as a racist slur against Republican Sen. Tim Scott.
The South Carolina senator, who is Black, delivered the GOP rebuttal to President Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening, which prompted his political opponents to use the slur against him on Twitter. The racial epithet then trended on the platform because of its repeated use, but the company has since put a halt to its promotion.
“I can confirm that we are blocking the phrase you referenced from appearing in Trends,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. “This is in line with our policies on Trends, specifically: ’We want Trends to promote healthy conversations on Twitter. This means at times, we may not allow or may temporarily prevent content from appearing in Trends until more context is available. This includes Trends that violate The Twitter Rules.’”
The slur directed at Mr. Scott is not a new experience for the senator, who noted during his rebuttal that liberals use racial epithets against him.
“I get called ’Uncle Tom’ and the N-word by progressives, by liberals,” Mr. Scottsaid Wednesday. “Just last week, a national newspaper suggested my family’s poverty was actually privilege because a relative owned land generations before my time. Believe me, I know firsthand our healing is not finished.”
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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