Twitter has labeled a post from Donald Trump claiming mail drop boxes are “a big fraud.”
The president on Sunday alleged that the private lock boxes, often used by businesses or individuals who don’t want to share their home address, are “a voter security disaster” that “make it possible for a person to vote multiple times” and “are not COVID sanitized.”
Now, whether scrolling through Trump’s feed or searching for the unsubstantiated tweet directly, users will be met with a warning that the post makes misleading health claims “that could potentially dissuade people from participation in voting,” the social network said.
“Per our policies, this tweet will remain on the service given its relevance to ongoing public conversation,” Twitter added. “Engagements with this tweet will be limited. People will be able to retweet with comment, but not like, reply, or retweet it.” Click the “learn more” link to read about public-interest exceptions.
In an attempt to avoid crowded polling places on Election Day, many states are making it easier for Americans to vote by mail this year. Despite Trump’s assertions that mail-in voting is bad and absentee ballots are good, experts have debunked this idea, explaining that both voting systems are essentially the same thing.
This isn’t the first time the president’s tweets have been flagged for misinformation. In late May, hours after Trump signed an executive order cracking down on social media sites that place warnings on his inflammatory posts, Twitter added a warning to Trump’s inflammatory post about shooting protestors in Minneapolis.
Another tweet threatening protestors in Washington, D.C., a month later earned another label, followed in August by Twitter and Facebook simply removing posts featuring President Trump’s interview with Fox News in which he claimed children are “almost immune” to COVID-19. His son, Donald Trump Jr., was temporarily blocked from tweeting this summer after he posted a video claiming the drug hydroxychloroquine can cure the virus and that masks are ineffective.
