Donald Trump Hit With ‘Manipulated Media’ Notice for Latest Twitter Post

Twitter has added a “manipulated media” warning label to a video shared by President Donald Trump showing a doctored version from a September CNN clip. Shared Thursday night, the tweet included the viral video of two children, one Black and one White, running to greet each other on the streets of New York. The clip, however, was edited to show the Black toddler being chased and included a CNN-style chyron that read “Terrified Todler (sic) Runs From Racist Baby” to make it appear as though it were an actual CNN broadcast.

Shortly after it was posted, Twitter tagged the tweet with a “manipulated media” label, linking out to a fact sheet that informed users that “video being shared of CNN report on toddlers is doctored, journalists confirm.” Several journalists also fact-checked the video, linking out to CNN’s original story, which was titled “Internet falls in love with these two toddlers hugging.” In a statement to CNN, a Twitter spokesperson explained that “this Tweet has been labeled per our synthetic and manipulated media policy to give people more context.”

Responding to the president’s post, a spokesperson for CNN said “CNN did cover this story — but exactly as it happened. Just as we reported your positions on race (and poll numbers).” The tweet went on to state that CNN “will continue working with facts rather than tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children” and invited the president “to do the same” and “be better.”

The “manipulated media” tag marks just the latest example of the social media platform taking action against the president. In May, the platform flagged a post due to its “glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.” In the tweet, the president had used the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” in reference to the protests sparked following the police killing of George Floyd. The phrase had notably been used by former Miami police chief Walter E. Headley, who had used it as a threat against civil rights protesters. Trump, however, recently inaccurately attributed the quote to former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, who in 1978 urged the city to “vote white.” During that same month, Twitter labeled a tweet which included false claims about mail-in ballots.

Earlier this month, the platform disabled a video tribute to Floyd posted by the Trump campaign’s official account over a copyright claim. In a similar move, Facebook on Thursday removed advertisements posted by the president’s campaign as they violated its policy against organized hate as they featured an inverted red triangle, the same symbols used by Nazi Germany to identify Communists and members of other opposition parties.