Independent essays and ideasAboutContactEuropean Edition
Tech

Facebook, Twitter flag Trump for misleading posts on voting

It's the latest effort by Facebook and Twitter to crack down on misleading voting information.

WILMINGTON, NC - SEPTEMBER 02: President Donald Trump speaks to a small crowd outside the USS North Carolina on September 2, 2020 in Wilmington, North Carolina. President Donald Trump visited the port city for a brief ceremony designating Wilmington as the nation's first WWII Heritage City. The title is in honor of the area's efforts during WWII.

Facebook and Twitter flagged posts from President Donald Trump, the latest effort by the companies to crack down on misleading voting information.

Twitter added labels to two tweets from Trump for “encouraging people to potentially vote twice,” the company said. Trump suggested on Twitter Thursday morning that people vote in person as well as by mail to be “ASSURED THAT YOUR PRECIOUS VOTE HAS BEEN COUNTED.”

The same post was also flagged on Facebook, where the company added a label that directed users to its voting information center. “Voting by mail has a long history of trustworthiness in the U.S. and the same is predicted this year,” Facebook wrote on the label appended to the president’s post.

Trump has criticized mail-in ballots, suggesting the system will lead to a fraudulent or rigged election. Many Americans are expected to vote by mail this year due to health concerns driven by the coronavirus.