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Snapchat curbs Trump posts for inciting 'racial
Snapchat curbs Trump posts for inciting 'racial
violence'
AFP/File / DENIS CHARLETSnapchat, a social platform popular with youth, is curbing the reach of posts by President Donald Trump, saying he is inciting racial violence
Snapchat on Wednesday stopped promoting posts by US President Donald Trump, saying they incite "racial violence."
"We are not currently promoting the president's content on Snapchat's Discover platform," Snapchat said in response to an AFP inquiry, referencing the youth-focused social network's section for recommended content.
"We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover."
The move came after Twitter took an unprecedented stand by hiding a Trump post it said promoted violence, thrusting rival Facebook into turmoil for refusing to sanction false or inflammatory posts by the US president.
The decision was made over the weekend, during which Snapchat parent Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel sent a lengthy memo to employees condemning what he saw as a legacy of racial injustice and violence in the US.
"Every minute we are silent in the face of evil and wrongdoing we are acting in support of evildoers," Spiegel wrote as companies responded to the outrage over the police killing of a black man in Minnesota.
"I am heartbroken and enraged by the treatment of black people and people of color in America."
Snapchat will not promote accounts in the US that are linked to people who incite racial violence on or off the messaging platform, according Spiegel.
The Discover feature at Snapchat is a curated platform on which the California-based company get to decide what it recommends to users.
Trump's account remains on the platform, it will just no longer be recommended viewing, according to Snapchat.
"We may continue to allow divisive people to maintain an account on Snapchat, as long as the content that is published on Snapchat is consistent with our community guidelines, but we will not promote that account or content in any way," Spiegel said in the memo.
"We will make it clear with our actions that there is no grey area when it comes to racism, violence, and injustice - and we will not promote it, nor those who support it, on our platform."
Snapchat is particularly popular with young internet users, claiming that about half of the US "generation Z" population taping into news through its Discover feature.
Snapchat curbs Trump for inciting ‘racial violence’ as Facebook looks the other way
June 3, 2020 By Agence France-Presse
Snapchat on Wednesday became the latest social network moving to curb the reach of inflammatory comments by US President Donald Trump, claiming the president has been inciting “racial violence.”
The youth-focused social network said it would no longer promote Trump on its Discover platform for recommended content.
“We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover,” a statement from Snapchat said.
The move came days after Twitter took an unprecedented stand by hiding a Trump post it said promoted violence, heating up the White House war with Silicon Valley and social media.
Snapchat parent Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel over the weekend sent a lengthy memo to employees condemning what he saw as a legacy of racial injustice and violence in the US.
Snapchat will not promote accounts in the US that are linked to people who incite racial violence on or off the messaging platform, according Spiegel.
“Every minute we are silent in the face of evil and wrongdoing we are acting in support of evildoers,” Spiegel wrote as companies responded to the outrage over the police killing of a black man in Minnesota.
“I am heartbroken and enraged by the treatment of black people and people of color in America.”
The Discover feature at Snapchat is a curated platform on which the California-based company gets to decide what it recommends to users.
– No longer recommended –
Trump’s account remains on the platform, it will just no longer be recommended viewing, according to Snapchat.
“We may continue to allow divisive people to maintain an account on Snapchat, as long as the content that is published on Snapchat is consistent with our community guidelines, but we will not promote that account or content in any way,” Spiegel said in the memo.
“We will make it clear with our actions that there is no gray area when it comes to racism, violence, and injustice — and we will not promote it, nor those who support it, on our platform.”
Snapchat is particularly popular with young internet users, claiming that about half of the US “generation Z” population tapping into news through its Discover feature.
“There are plenty of debates to be had about the future of our country and the world,” Spiegel said.
“But there is simply no room for debate in our country about the value of human life and the importance of a constant struggle for freedom, equality, and justice.”
Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale denounced the move, saying that “Snapchat is trying to rig the 2020 election, illegally using their corporate funding to promote Joe Biden and suppress President Trump.”
Parscale said in a statement: “Snapchat hates that so many of their users watch the president’s content and so they are actively engaging in voter suppression… If you’re a conservative, they do not want to hear from you, they do not want you to vote. They view you as a deplorable and they do not want you to exist on their platform.”
– Facebook looks away –
The move by Twitter last week prompted an angry response by Trump, who within days signed an executive order calling for heightened government oversight of social platforms.
Trump accuses the platforms of “censorship” and limiting “free speech,” but his critics say the president has distorted the interpretation of those terms and is himself seeking to regulate online content.
In contrast to Twitter and Snapchat, Facebook has defended his decision not to interfere with posts by Trump.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his position in a call with employees this week, according to reports, despite criticism of the Facebook policy by civil rights activists.
Snapchat removes Trump account from curated promotional section
Katie Paul
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Snap Inc said it would no longer promote U.S. President Donald Trump’s account in Snapchat’s Discover section, saying his incendiary comments last week made the account ineligible for the curated section where users explore new content.
“We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover,” the company said in a statement.
“Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America.”
Shares fell 2.4% after the announcement.
Trump’s Snapchat account, which consists mostly of campaign content and does not contain the informal rhetoric he regularly uses on his favored platform Twitter, will remain public and accessible to people who follow it or search for it, Snap said.
Democratic rival Joe Biden, who is seeking to oust Trump in the November presidential election, quickly capitalized on the move. In a video posted to Snapchat, he said, grinning, that he was proud to run for president “and still be on Snapchat.”
In a statement, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale accused Snap of trying to rig the election by promoting Biden while suppressing Trump’s content. He said Snap promoted “extreme left riot videos” and encouraged users to “destroy America”.
Snap said the Discover section features voices across the political spectrum, including both Republicans and Democrats.
Twitter ignited a furor last week by placing labels on several of Trump’s tweets that it said violated its rules on misleading information and glorifying violence, including one which used the racially charged phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Facebook declined to take any action on the same posts, prompting an employee protest on Monday.
Snap did not specify which of Trump’s comments it considered inciteful, but Chief Executive Evan Spiegel told staffers in a memo on Sunday he would “walk the talk” on divisive content and the “legacy of racial violence and injustice in America.”
He noted that the Discover section is “a curated platform, where we decide what we promote.”
The company said its decision to remove the president’s content from Discover was made over the weekend.
Reporting by Katie Paul; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Stephen Coates and Christopher Cushing
Snapchat curbs Trump for inciting ‘racial violence’ as Facebook looks the other way
June 3, 2020 By Agence France-Presse
Snapchat on Wednesday became the latest social network moving to curb the reach of inflammatory comments by US President Donald Trump, claiming the president has been inciting “racial violence.”
The youth-focused social network said it would no longer promote Trump on its Discover platform for recommended content.
“We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover,” a statement from Snapchat said.
The move came days after Twitter took an unprecedented stand by hiding a Trump post it said promoted violence, heating up the White House war with Silicon Valley and social media.
Snapchat parent Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel over the weekend sent a lengthy memo to employees condemning what he saw as a legacy of racial injustice and violence in the US.
Snapchat will not promote accounts in the US that are linked to people who incite racial violence on or off the messaging platform, according Spiegel.
“Every minute we are silent in the face of evil and wrongdoing we are acting in support of evildoers,” Spiegel wrote as companies responded to the outrage over the police killing of a black man in Minnesota.
“I am heartbroken and enraged by the treatment of black people and people of color in America.”
The Discover feature at Snapchat is a curated platform on which the California-based company gets to decide what it recommends to users.
– No longer recommended –
Trump’s account remains on the platform, it will just no longer be recommended viewing, according to Snapchat.
“We may continue to allow divisive people to maintain an account on Snapchat, as long as the content that is published on Snapchat is consistent with our community guidelines, but we will not promote that account or content in any way,” Spiegel said in the memo.
“We will make it clear with our actions that there is no gray area when it comes to racism, violence, and injustice — and we will not promote it, nor those who support it, on our platform.”
Snapchat is particularly popular with young internet users, claiming that about half of the US “generation Z” population tapping into news through its Discover feature.
“There are plenty of debates to be had about the future of our country and the world,” Spiegel said.
“But there is simply no room for debate in our country about the value of human life and the importance of a constant struggle for freedom, equality, and justice.”
Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale denounced the move, saying that “Snapchat is trying to rig the 2020 election, illegally using their corporate funding to promote Joe Biden and suppress President Trump.”
Parscale said in a statement: “Snapchat hates that so many of their users watch the president’s content and so they are actively engaging in voter suppression… If you’re a conservative, they do not want to hear from you, they do not want you to vote. They view you as a deplorable and they do not want you to exist on their platform.”
– Facebook looks away –
The move by Twitter last week prompted an angry response by Trump, who within days signed an executive order calling for heightened government oversight of social platforms.
Trump accuses the platforms of “censorship” and limiting “free speech,” but his critics say the president has distorted the interpretation of those terms and is himself seeking to regulate online content.
In contrast to Twitter and Snapchat, Facebook has defended his decision not to interfere with posts by Trump.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his position in a call with employees this week, according to reports, despite criticism of the Facebook policy by civil rights activists.
Snapchat removes Trump account from curated promotional section
Katie Paul
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Snap Inc said it would no longer promote U.S. President Donald Trump’s account in Snapchat’s Discover section, saying his incendiary comments last week made the account ineligible for the curated section where users explore new content.
“We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover,” the company said in a statement.
“Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America.”
Shares fell 2.4% after the announcement.
Trump’s Snapchat account, which consists mostly of campaign content and does not contain the informal rhetoric he regularly uses on his favored platform Twitter, will remain public and accessible to people who follow it or search for it, Snap said.
Democratic rival Joe Biden, who is seeking to oust Trump in the November presidential election, quickly capitalized on the move. In a video posted to Snapchat, he said, grinning, that he was proud to run for president “and still be on Snapchat.”
In a statement, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale accused Snap of trying to rig the election by promoting Biden while suppressing Trump’s content. He said Snap promoted “extreme left riot videos” and encouraged users to “destroy America”.
Snap said the Discover section features voices across the political spectrum, including both Republicans and Democrats.
Twitter ignited a furor last week by placing labels on several of Trump’s tweets that it said violated its rules on misleading information and glorifying violence, including one which used the racially charged phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Facebook declined to take any action on the same posts, prompting an employee protest on Monday.
Snap did not specify which of Trump’s comments it considered inciteful, but Chief Executive Evan Spiegel told staffers in a memo on Sunday he would “walk the talk” on divisive content and the “legacy of racial violence and injustice in America.”
He noted that the Discover section is “a curated platform, where we decide what we promote.”
The company said its decision to remove the president’s content from Discover was made over the weekend.
Reporting by Katie Paul; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Stephen Coates and Christopher Cushing
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