Trump slams Facebook, Twitter after restricting anti-Biden article [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• On Wednesday, President Donald Trump slammed Facebook and Twitter following their censorship over a New York Post article that exposed Joe Biden and his son Hunter over their Ukrainian transactions.
• According to Facebook and Twitter, the restriction was made since the story was not verified.
• The New York Post has condemned the social media giants’ move, saying that nobody has questioned the veracity of their story.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called out Facebook and Twitter for blocking links to a New York Post article aimed at attacking Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son on accounts of Ukraine corruption.

The newspaper claimed it was able to secure a computer used by Hunter Biden which contained information where his dad was involved in his business affairs in Ukraine.

Repeatedly, the former vice president has debunked the said allegation. “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,” he said in September 2019.

“Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad,” the newspaper’s headline read.

Both Facebook and Twitter put disclaimers to the article link, saying that the information is not verified since Biden’s campaign has denied the claim.

“This is part of our standard process to reduce the spread of misinformation,” Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said.

Twitter, meanwhile, said that it was hindering the dissemination as there were doubts about “the origins of the materials” contained in the column.

Trump and the GOP denounced the move, calling it partisan censorship. The president, in particular, slammed the two social media companies.

“So terrible that Facebook and Twitter took down the story of ‘Smoking Gun’ emails related to Sleepy Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in the @NYPost,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“It is only the beginning for them. There is nothing worse than a corrupt politician,” he continued. 

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was regretful following the company’s efforts against the article.

“Our communication around our actions on the @nypost article was not great. And blocking URL sharing via tweet or DM with zero context as to why we’re blocking: unacceptable,” he tweeted.

According to the Post, the computer was left by Hunter Biden at a Delaware computer shop in April 2019. The shop owner told them that the computer was abandoned and that he copied the hard drive files and gave the copy to federal officials.

The hard drive was obtained by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, who handed it over to the Post.

Biden’s campaign did not disregard the presence of the computer and the validity of the emails. Giuliani, though, has been known for spreading misinformation against the Bidens and Ukraine.

The Post also condemned Facebook and Twitter for censoring its article, arguing that nobody has questioned the piece.

“Facebook and Twitter are not media platforms. They’re propaganda machines,” it wrote in an editorial.

Source: Yahoo News!