DISINFO: Trump's Twitter ban is against Western values

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: Trump's Twitter ban is against Western values

SUMMARY

The blocking by Twitter of Donald Trump’s account is an attack on the democratic values that Western countries claim they cherish said Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is actually a nuclear explosion in cyberspace as Donald Trump is the head of state and the President of the United States.

RESPONSE

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, questioning the legitimacy of democracy and Western institutions and, in this case, favouring Donald Trump.

The decision by Twitter to ban Donald Trump's account has caused a big debate concerning the limits of free speech. However, there have been good reasons for Twitter and other social media platforms to ban Trump from using them to promote his views. Twitter said that they had given an opportunity to the US President to avoid inciting hatred when it reinstated his account after banning it because of the events in the Capitol. Trump's behaviour left the company with no options though but totally banning his account.

Additionally, the first amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees free speech. But those guarantees do not apply to crimes that might be contained within the speech itself. A good example is incitement and this is what happened when President Trump actually "ordered" his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6th.

See other examples of relevant disinformation narratives, such as claims that the result of the US 2020 election doesn’t matter because the real ruler is the Deep State, which will kill any US president that confronts it.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

    %s

      Your opinion matters!

      Data Protection Information *

        Subscribe to the Disinfo Review

        Your weekly update on pro-Kremlin disinformation

        Data Protection Information *

        The Disinformation Review is sent through Mailchimp.com. See Mailchimp’s privacy policy and find out more on how EEAS protects your personal data.

        🎵 Playlist