WHY HASN'T TWITTER CLOSED TRUMP'S ACCOUNT?

Twitter has a set of Rules concerning what is acceptable and not acceptable to post. One section is titled Abusive Behavior.

We believe in freedom of expression and open dialogue, but that means little as an underlying philosophy if voices are silenced because people are afraid to speak up. In order to ensure that people feel safe expressing diverse opinions and beliefs, we prohibit behavior that crosses the line into abuse, including behavior that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another user’s voice.

Within the Abusive Behavior section of the Rules is a subsection on Abuse and hateful conduct:

Abuse and hateful conduct

Abuse: You may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so. We consider abusive behavior an attempt to harass, intimidate, or silence someone else’s voice.

The twitter account of Donald J. Trump, @realdonaldtrump, consistently violates these Rules. On April 12, Trump posted a video that appears to link Congresswoman Omar with the destruction of the twin towers on 9/11. His tweet fans the bigotry against Muslims at a time when Islamophobia is on the rise. The FBI recently (prior to Trump's tweet) arrested a man in New York who threatened to "put a bullet through [Congresswoman Omar's] fucking skull." The man said he is a patriot, Omar is "a terrorist," and he supports President Trump. 

Twitter has had many requests to close the Trump account, but has not done so. The company has made statements that the accounts of world leaders get some leeway because they may contain important information for the public. Twitter tries to achieve some sort of balance in this regard. In my opinion, the Trump account is so full of vitriol and hatred that the bad it does outweighs the good by a wide margin. 

So why doesn't Twitter shut down the Trump account for violating The Rules? This is a good question. The cynical me assumes that the Trump twitter feed brings a lot of traffic to twitter, and is therefore good for the bottom line. I might be wrong. Or maybe they are giving Trump free reign so he can continue to post evidence against himself for some future legal action - not likely. 

I have filed a complaint of abusive behavior against the @realdonaldtrump account for the recent video using Rep. Omar and the 9/11 tragedy, and asked Twitter to close the account. I encourage every Twitter user to do the same.

#Closerealdonaldtrump

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