Social Media

Twitter (Again) Announced It Wouldn't Block World Leaders

The announcement doesn't mention President Donald Trump by name, but it's likely about one of his latest tweets.

Twitter (Again) Announced It Wouldn't Block World Leaders
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Twitter once again announced it wouldn't block world leaders or hide their controversial tweets.

In a statement released Friday, the company said blocking tweets from world leaders "would hide important information people should be able to see and debate."

That statement follows a recent tweet from President Donald Trump about North Korea and nuclear buttons. Some people argue the tweet counts as a "specific threat of violence," which Twitter technically doesn't allow on its site.

San Francisco activist group Resistance SF went after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey after Trump's tweet, projecting the message "@jack is #complicit" onto Twitter's headquarters. Resistance SF argues Dorsey enables the president's alleged violations.

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If this back-and-forth sounds familiar, that's because it is. Trump seems to taunt North Korea a lot, and the conversation about his presence on the social media site typically follows soon after.

Twitter spent much of 2017 addressing its long-standing abuse problem, but the company doesn't view world leaders like Trump as part of it. Back in September, after Trump levied another seemingly provocative tweet at North Korea, Twitter said it would stay up because of its "newsworthiness."