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Snapchat to stop 'promoting' Trump amid growing hostilities between White House and social media firms

More than 200,000 secondary school children may have been groomed online, research suggests: PA
More than 200,000 secondary school children may have been groomed online, research suggests: PA

Snapchat will stop “promoting” the account of US president Donald Trump on the image messaging platform in a fresh escalation between the White House and social media forms.

The decision by the youth-orientated app means the president will no longer feature in its Discover section, which is a shop window for users to view new content.

It comes after Twitter placed fact-check alerts on two of the president’s tweets last week, which had described postal voting as “fraudulent” and claimed there would be problems with the absentee ballot system in the November US elections.

A further Trump tweet threatening that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” was then obscured with a warning for “glorifying violence” as anti-police brutality protests erupted following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on Monday, May 25 after being arrested for allegedly forging a cheque.

Snapchat boss Evan Spiegel says his company will not promote accounts
Snapchat boss Evan Spiegel says his company will not promote accounts

Now Snapchat’s latest move means the president’s posts will no longer show up in the app’s “Discover” section, which showcases news from media outlets and content by celebrities and public figures.

The company said it would not promote accounts “that are linked to people who incite racial violence”, but one presidential advisor accused the platform boss of promoting “riot videos”.

Snapchat’s decision comes after Mr Trump said "vicious dogs" and "ominous weapons" would have been deployed against protesters had they breached the White House fence.

However, his account – which has more than one million followers – will remain active on Snapchat and visible to anyone who searches or subscribes to it.

The platform is seen as a key way to try and reach young voters ahead the presidential elections.

The image messaging app is seen as a key way of reaching young voters (Snapchat)
The image messaging app is seen as a key way of reaching young voters (Snapchat)

Snap, the app's parent company, said: “We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover.

“Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America.”

Responding to the removal, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted: “Radical Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel would rather promote extreme left riot videos & encourage users to destroy America than share positive words of unity, justice, and law & order from our President.

“They do not want conservatives on their platform.”

Snapchat has 229 million users (AFP via Getty Images)
Snapchat has 229 million users (AFP via Getty Images)

In a memo to staff, Mr Spiegel said: “We simply cannot promote accounts in America that are linked to people who incite racial violence, whether they do so on or off our platform."

He added: ”Our Discover content platform is a curated platform, where we decide what we promote.”

The move will put further pressure on Facebook, which has left identical posts to remain uncensored, with the social network’s founder Mark Zuckerberg citing free speech principles.

Mr Zuckerberg has refused to budge on his belief that Facebook should not be “arbiters of the truth”, no matter how incendiary the presidential posts.

Amid growing tensions between the White House and social media firms, the president has signed an executive order aiming to reduce legal protections for the content they host.

Snapchat has 229 million users, Twitter has 166 million and Facebook has reportedly 2.5 billion active accounts.

Unlike Twitter and even Facebook, Snapchat is generally used as a private communications tool, with friends sending each other short videos and images.

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