Skip to main content

[Update: Trump responds] Twitter puts a fake news tag on Trump tweets for the first time

For the first time, Twitter has added a label to tweets from President Trump. The tweets in question relate to mail-in ballots and the president’s claims that mail-in ballots are fraudulent.

Twitter has applied a label to two of President Trump’s tweets, inviting users to “get the facts about mail-in ballots.” Tapping or clicking on the label takes users to a Twitter Moment that explains:

On Tuesday, President Trump made a series of claims about potential voter fraud after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an effort to expand mail-in voting in California during the COVID-19 pandemic. These claims are unsubstantiated, according to CNN, Washington Post and others. Experts say mail-in ballots are very rarely linked to voter fraud.

The tweet thread in question from President Trump is below — interestingly the label does not seem to appear on web embeds:

The Washington Post also points out pressure Twitter is facing over other tweets from President Trump:

Twitter’s actions come on a day when Twitter was facing a barrage of criticism over another set of Trump tweets. Earlier on Tuesday the widower of a former staffer to Joe Scarborough asked Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey to delete tweets by President Trump furthering a baseless conspiracy theory about the staffer’s wife’s death.

As for Twitter’s decision to apply a label to the tweets about mail-in ballots, company spokesperson Katie Rosborough said they “contain potentially misleading information about voting processes and have been labeled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots.”

As of right now, President Trump has not responded to the labels applied to his inaccurate tweets about mail-in ballots. [Update: Trump’s response below.]

Read more:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is the editor-in-chief of 9to5Mac, overseeing the entire site’s operations. He also hosts the 9to5Mac Daily and 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcasts.

You can send tips, questions, and typos to chance@9to5mac.com.

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications