Facebook Inc <FB.O> and Twitter Inc <TWTR.N> flagged some of President Donald Trump’s posts on the U.S. election as votes were still being counted, in a real-time test of their rules on handling misinformation and premature claims of victory.
But even as the companies moved to label posts by the president, his false claim of victory and unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud triggered online furor and misinformation.
Social media companies have been under fierce scrutiny over how they police rapidly spreading false information and election-related abuses of their platforms. In the weeks before Tuesday’s vote, both vowed action on posts by candidates trying to declare early victory.
Twitter also applied labels to posts by Democrat and Republican officials in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Florida, warning users that the information may be contested or inaccurate.
Early on Wednesday, Twitter hid a Trump tweet that claimed “we are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election” behind a label that said it was potentially misleading. The company also restricted users’ ability to share the post.
Read More:Â President Trump falsely claims victory over Democratic rival
(Reuters)
