On the same day President Trump's chief telecom policy advisor pressed the FCC to figure out how to regulate content on social media (Monday, July 27), the President was attacking Twitter, on Twitter. The social media sites' flagging of some of his tweets helped prompt that regulatory effort.
The President accused Twitter of "illegally" trending stories critical of him:
[embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1287880895051907072[/embed]
The President was also facing some social media pushback over his re-tweeting of a tr Facebook video showing doctors defending the use of anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, which the President has promoted as a treatment for COVID-19.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is suing to have the drug be made available for fighting the pandemic despite the fact that it is generally considered not efficacious and potentially harmful. That group also has an online post suggesting, contrary to advice from the CDC and most other health professionals, that "there is no firm evidence to support the masking and 'social distancing' mandates being imposed throughout the land."
Reportedly, Facebook, then Twitter, took down posts about the drug and PPE saying they violated their policies against misinformation on COVID-19. The President had retweeted references to the doctor video.
