Fact-checking row: Trump signs executive order targeting social media giant
United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to remove certain protections given to social media platforms.
The order is in response to the recent flare-up between Trump and the micro-blogging site Twitter.
Earlier on Tuesday, Twitter had added fact-check warnings to two of Trump’s tweets about mail-in ballots.
Order clarifies Communications Decency
The order sets out to clarify the Communications Decency Act—a US law that offers certain legal protections to online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
The order states that this legal immunity does not apply if a social media platform edits users’ content.
Trump said Attorney General William Barr will “immediately” begin drafting a law that the US Congress will vote on.
Trump miffed after Twitter fact-checked him
On Tuesday, President Trump had posted two tweets claiming that mail-in voting leads to widespread voter fraud.
Without providing any evidence, he wrote, “There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent.”
Twitter flagged the tweets with a warning label, describing them as “unsubstantiated.”
Trump had then slammed Twitter for “stifling free speech.”