Facebook and Twitter decline Pelosi's plea to remove clip posted by Donald Trump
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The Democrats are enraged by the response of the social media platforms.
Facebook and Twitter have declined House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request to remove an edited video posted by US President Donald Trump that tried to imply that she apparently tore the paper copy of his State of the Union address while he was honouring the last living Tuskegee Airman and other attendees.
The Democrats are enraged by the response of the social media platforms.
Pelosi's chief of staff called Drew Hammill took to Twitter to express his views on the entire incident.
The American people know that the President has no qualms about lying to them – but it is a shame to see Twitter and Facebook, sources of news for millions, do the same. https://t.co/OatHIOamsD
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) February 7, 2020
The latest fake video of Speaker Pelosi is deliberately designed to mislead and lie to the American people, and every day that these platforms refuse to take it down is another reminder that they care more about their shareholders’ interests than the public’s interests.
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) February 7, 2020
Democrats had requested the social media giants to remove the doctored clip and take tougher action.
The Republicans have argued that such policing could muzzle conservative viewpoints. The five-minute video was posted by Trump on Thursday with the caption '' powerful American stories ripped to shreds by Nancy Pelosi''.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2020
Both tech titans’ rejected the plea after stating that they did not violate any policy especially when Pelosi had actually torn the US President's speech after his address.
The plea's rejection comes amid heightened debate over responsibility to prevent the spread of misleading or outright false information during the 2020 presidential election.