President Trump’s love-hate relationship with Twitter hit another rocky patch today, when Agent Orange accused the platform of manipulating its trending topics to achieve the otherwise impossible feat of making him look bad.
Trump made the allegation on, what else, but Twitter. But defenders of truth and justice can rest assured: the matter is under investigation.
Twitter makes sure that Trending on Twitter is anything bad, Fake or not, about President Donald Trump. So obvious what they are doing. Being studied now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2020
The claim isn’t Trump’s first complaint about the platform’s trending topics. In July, he said the section’s negative coverage of him was “illegal,” and “unfair,” despite the content being guided by an algorithm, as Twitter’s FAQs explain:
Trends are determined by an algorithm and, by default, are tailored for you based on who you follow, your interests, and your location.
[Read: Are EVs too expensive? Here are 5 common myths, debunked]
The renewed accusation caps a hectic spell for Trump on Twitter. In May, the stable genius signed an executive order attempting to narrow protections provided to social media platforms after Twitter added a series of warning labels to his tweets. The latest label was added just hours after Trump accused the platform of being biased against him:
We’ve added a label to this Tweet for making a potentially misleading statement regarding the process of mail-in voting, and to offer more context for anyone who may see the Tweet. This action is in line with our recently-updated Civic Integrity Policy. https://t.co/aRbnblUUEO
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) September 17, 2020
Expect the baseless tirades to escalate as the November election approaches.
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