Snapchat joined the Trump versus social media spat by becoming the latest network to pose restrictions on the reach of US President Donald Trump. The social media site cited that the president has been inciting “racial violence,” Agence France Presse reported.
Snapchat said it would no longer promote Trump on its Discover platform for recommended content.
"We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover," a statement from Snapchat said as cited in the AFP report.
The move came days after Twitter took a strong stance against President Trump by hiding one of his posts and said that it promoted violence.
Snapchat parent, Snap chief executive, Evan Spiegel, over the weekend sent a lengthy memo to employees. In the memo, he vehemently criticised what he saw as a legacy of racial injustice and violence in the US.
Snapchat will not promote accounts in the US that are linked to people who incite racial violence on or off the messaging platform, according to Spiegel.
"Every minute we are silent in the face of evil and wrongdoing we are acting in support of evildoers," Spiegel wrote as companies responded to the outrage over the police killing of a black man in Minnesota.
"I am heartbroken and enraged by the treatment of black people and people of color in America," he said.
Trump's account is not suspended from the platform. However, the platform won’t recommend his content moving forward, according to Snapchat.
"We will make it clear with our actions that there is no gray area when it comes to racism, violence, and injustice -- and we will not promote it, nor those who support it, on our platform," Spiegel said in the memo.
Snapchat is prominent among youngsters and millennials who look for news by accessing its Discover feature.
"There are plenty of debates to be had about the future of our country and the world," Spiegel said.
"But there is simply no room for debate in our country about the value of human life and the importance of a constant struggle for freedom, equality, and justice," he further added.
The move has not been taken well by Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale and he condemned the move.
He said as cited in the AFP report: "Snapchat is trying to rig the 2020 election, illegally using their corporate funding to promote Joe Biden and suppress President Trump."
Parscale said in a statement: "Snapchat hates that so many of their users watch the president's content and so they are actively engaging in voter suppression... If you're a conservative, they do not want to hear from you, they do not want you to vote. They view you as a deplorable and they do not want you to exist on their platform."
Twitter’s move last week enraged Trump who signed an executive order prompting stricter government oversight of social platforms. Trump accuses the platforms of "censorship" and limiting "free speech."
While the virtual war propels further, Facebook has chosen to sideline itself from the matter.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his position in a call with employees this week, according to reports. This came as the CEO has been criticised by civil rights activists for his policies that favour politicians.
Last month, Ken Farnaso, the Trump campaign deputy press secretary, told AFP that Snapchat was an important platform of the re-election effort and that the Republican was ahead of Biden on the platform.
"It's clear that we're wiping the floor with Biden's campaign," Farnaso said of the Snapchat effort.
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Snapchat removes Trump’s account from Discover feature
Snapchat joined the Trump versus social media spat by becoming the latest network to pose restrictions on the reach of US President Donald Trump. The social media site cited that the president has been inciting “racial violence,” Agence France Presse reported.
Snapchat said it would no longer promote Trump on its Discover platform for recommended content.
"We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover," a statement from Snapchat said as cited in the AFP report.
The move came days after Twitter took a strong stance against President Trump by hiding one of his posts and said that it promoted violence.
Snapchat parent, Snap chief executive, Evan Spiegel, over the weekend sent a lengthy memo to employees. In the memo, he vehemently criticised what he saw as a legacy of racial injustice and violence in the US.
Snapchat will not promote accounts in the US that are linked to people who incite racial violence on or off the messaging platform, according to Spiegel.
"Every minute we are silent in the face of evil and wrongdoing we are acting in support of evildoers," Spiegel wrote as companies responded to the outrage over the police killing of a black man in Minnesota.
"I am heartbroken and enraged by the treatment of black people and people of color in America," he said.
Trump's account is not suspended from the platform. However, the platform won’t recommend his content moving forward, according to Snapchat.
"We will make it clear with our actions that there is no gray area when it comes to racism, violence, and injustice -- and we will not promote it, nor those who support it, on our platform," Spiegel said in the memo.
Snapchat is prominent among youngsters and millennials who look for news by accessing its Discover feature.
"There are plenty of debates to be had about the future of our country and the world," Spiegel said.
"But there is simply no room for debate in our country about the value of human life and the importance of a constant struggle for freedom, equality, and justice," he further added.
The move has not been taken well by Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale and he condemned the move.
He said as cited in the AFP report: "Snapchat is trying to rig the 2020 election, illegally using their corporate funding to promote Joe Biden and suppress President Trump."
Parscale said in a statement: "Snapchat hates that so many of their users watch the president's content and so they are actively engaging in voter suppression... If you're a conservative, they do not want to hear from you, they do not want you to vote. They view you as a deplorable and they do not want you to exist on their platform."
Twitter’s move last week enraged Trump who signed an executive order prompting stricter government oversight of social platforms. Trump accuses the platforms of "censorship" and limiting "free speech."
While the virtual war propels further, Facebook has chosen to sideline itself from the matter.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his position in a call with employees this week, according to reports. This came as the CEO has been criticised by civil rights activists for his policies that favour politicians.
Last month, Ken Farnaso, the Trump campaign deputy press secretary, told AFP that Snapchat was an important platform of the re-election effort and that the Republican was ahead of Biden on the platform.
"It's clear that we're wiping the floor with Biden's campaign," Farnaso said of the Snapchat effort.
A letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.
Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.
In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.
We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.
But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.
I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.
A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!
Support Quality JournalismSHARE