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Trump Threatens To Shut Social Media Companies After Twitter Fact Check (bloomberg.com) 682

President Donald Trump threatened to regulate or shutter social media companies -- a warning apparently aimed at Twitter after it began fact-checking his tweets. From a report: In a pair of tweets issued Wednesday morning from his iPhone, Trump said that social media sites are trying to silence conservative voices, and need to change course or face action. There is no evidence that Trump has the ability to shut down social media networks, which are run by publicly traded companies and used by billions of people all over the world.

Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen," he said Wednesday. In a second tweet, he added: "Just like we can't let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country." He didn't cite any platforms by name, but it was plainly a response after Twitter added a fact-check label to earlier Trump tweets that made unsubstantiated claims about mail-in voting. It's the first time Twitter has taken action on Trump's posts for being misleading.

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Trump Threatens To Shut Social Media Companies After Twitter Fact Check

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  • Do it! (Score:5, Funny)

    by RobinH ( 124750 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:46AM (#60110086) Homepage
    Oh, please, please, please shut them all down! Please! I'll campaign door-to-door for Trump if he'll actually do it!
  • by BenJeremy ( 181303 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:52AM (#60110130)

    He's upset that his posts are now challenged by fact checking links. This doesn't silence anybody, it just makes his lies harder to spread.

    How do you know you are on the side of the baddies? The skulls in the insignia are one sign, but so is an incessant need to lie about everything. When fact-checking is your enemy, your followers should RUN AWAY. Sadly, the world will always have its share of useful idiots, no matter what the ideology, willing to support the lies in the face of facts, logic, and common sense. All you can do is combat them with the truth and force them back into the shadows.

  • by mark_reh ( 2015546 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:52AM (#60110132) Journal

    Without antisocial media to spread his lies and bullshit he'd only have Fox "news" and OANN, and a few AM radio morons to do the job.

    #f**kTrump

  • by fustakrakich ( 1673220 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:53AM (#60110134) Journal

    I'm sure gab will welcome him and his faithful followers with open arms, no questions asked

  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:56AM (#60110162)

    Trump Threatens To Shut Social Media Companies After Twitter Fact Check

    Finally a good idea from that brainless windbag. Go right ahead, you can start with Facebook.

    • The irony of threatening to shut down (i.e. actually censor) social media because they're "censoring" (i.e. adding a fact check link to) his posts appears to have been lost on him.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:57AM (#60110168)
    If you take the name Donald Trump, take a few letters away, add a few and move some round a bit it spells 'Utter Cunt'. FACT.
  • by RLBrown ( 889443 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @09:57AM (#60110178) Homepage
    A controlled news media is almost by definition a corrupt news media. This is true whether it be government control or corporate control. Unfortunately, there are those who like validation more than truth. They will listen to only (e.g.) Fox News because they know that whatever is said, it will make them feel that they are right, never wrong. So for them, the idea that the "good people in authority" should dictate the news, in the literal sense of dictation, is a much-desired utopia. As for those people in authority, controlling the media is a defense against their own failings. Controlling the media is an admission that you can not do your job, so you might as well try to pretend that you can. Controlling the media is a means to hold on to power with a pretense of democracy. Telling people that you wish to control the media is a big warning flag that you are unfit.
  • by cpurdy ( 4838085 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @10:01AM (#60110208)

    "President Donald Trump threatened to regulate or shutter social media companies -- a warning apparently aimed at Twitter after it began fact-checking his tweets."

    As they say: "Shitler gonna shit."

  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @10:15AM (#60110318)

    If facts suddenly had to enter politics, how should a populist stay relevant?

  • by MobyDisk ( 75490 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @10:22AM (#60110390) Homepage

    Trump said that social media sites are trying to silence conservative voices

    He meant "Republican" voices. Conservative voices have been drowned out by Republican voices ever since George W. Bush (#2) changed the Republican party to a warmongering, fearmongering, anti-immigrant party. For those not familiar: prior to George W. Bush the Republicans were against border walls, against military action in foreign countries, in favor of open trade, and stood up for the plight of undocumented immigrants.

    • by jeff4747 ( 256583 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @11:36AM (#60110842)

      against military action in foreign countries

      Uh.....HW Bush had his exciting Kuwaiti adventure. And Grenada might remember something involving Reagan. Then we get back to Nixon, used Vietnam as an excuse to take "military action" in neighboring countries.

      So if you want to claim Conservative voices have been drowned out since Eisenhower, you might have a claim.

      However, one could point out that if y'all have been voting against Conservative voices for the last 70ish years, the problem isn't the Republican party.

  • by multi io ( 640409 ) <olaf.klischat@googlemail.com> on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @10:23AM (#60110398)
    Maybe Twitter should threaten to shut down Trump's Twitter account instead. The thing is, doing so would probably help Trump's reelection effort, even though he himself wouldn't understand that.
  • by dskoll ( 99328 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @10:29AM (#60110442) Homepage

    ... at least, according to Trump.

    To Hell with that damned First Amendment thingie. Shut down social media if Trump doesn't like it!!!!!!

  • by sdinfoserv ( 1793266 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @10:56AM (#60110624)
    not unlike Hitler who invoked Article 48 of the Weimar Republic Constitution after becoming Chancellor to seize power, pass laws without Parliament or President (executive orders?), and shut down all nonpropaganda media... Remember the Nazi party were considered buffoons prior to the economic collapse.
    Careful America, we're walking down a dangerous road to Fascism.
    https://www.history.com/topics... [history.com]
  • by onepoint ( 301486 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @10:59AM (#60110644) Homepage Journal

    While many Slashdot users might not see it, I feel deeply that we are
    near a historical moment or in an important moment in history.

    Someone stood up to Trump and exercised their rights, and the risk is
    that these rights might be taken away. What a great time to live.

    Change for many people are happening, positive or negative is still
    unknown.

  • by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @11:28AM (#60110800) Journal
    "..that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
    ..which apparently means threatening to terminate Twitter out-of-hand.
  • Hypocrisy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dkman ( 863999 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @11:30AM (#60110808)

    The Republican motto: capitalism all the way. Government shouldn't tell corporations what to do.

    Corporation X does something the republicans don't like.

    The government should tell corporation X how to operate.

    That level of hypocrisy takes balls. And somehow they see no problem with it. Their blinders are strong.

  • by kiviQr ( 3443687 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @12:22PM (#60111162)
    Why FCC cannot fine politicians for false statements?
  • by evil_aaronm ( 671521 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @01:06PM (#60111480)
    An honest man does not fear fact checking.
  • by GrahamJ ( 241784 ) on Wednesday May 27, 2020 @02:04PM (#60111810)

    What a fucking idiot.

If all else fails, lower your standards.

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