Twitter has removed the retweet, like and reply functions on a Twitter video posted by Donald Trump “due to a risk of violence”.
In the video, Mr Trump addressed his supporters, who had clashed with police in Washington DC forcing a lockdown at the US Capitol building.
In the video the president told protesters that they “have to go home now”, adding “we don’t want anybody hurt”, but he also claimed that “this was a fraudulent election”.
Twitter added a warning to the video, which read: “This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this tweet can’t be replied to, retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence”.
The US Capitol building was overwhelmed by mobs of Trump supporters on Wednesday, and there were reports of one person being shot during skirmishes between rioters and police.
The @TwitterSafety account also tweeted: “In regard to the ongoing situation in Washington, D.C., we are working proactively to protect the health of the public conversation occurring on the service and will take action on any content that violates the Twitter Rules.”
It continued: “In addition, we have been significantly restricting engagement with tweets labelled under our civic integrity policy due to the risk of violence.
“This means these labelled tweets will not be able to be replied to, retweeted, or liked.”
In regard to the ongoing situation in Washington, D.C., we are working proactively to protect the health of the public conversation occurring on the service and will take action on any content that violates the Twitter Rules.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 6, 2021
Mr Trump’s video was viewed more than 10 million times in less than an hour.
