Facebook, Twitter chart divergent paths in face of Trump threats

WASHINGTON, DC - Twitter and Facebook have both sparked the ire of Donald Trump, but the social networks have taken nearly opposite approaches to politics and the President.

Mr Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive officer, is fond of saying that Facebook shouldn't be"the arbiter of truth". That Facebook and Twitter are treating political speech differently is likely no accident, considering the vast differences in their business models and policy risks, experts said. In recent years, Facebook has shifted some of its policies to avoid complaints from conservatives that it's biased. And as it woos important Republicans who have Mr Trump's ear, it has angered Democrats with some of its policy decisions.

Twitter, by contrast, is a much smaller company and can act without fear of the antitrust hammer. That gives it more wiggle room to take positions that could upset the party in power, and also a motive to distinguish itself from its bigger rivals."Nobody is going to accuse Twitter of being a dominant social media platform" or of monopolising online advertising, Feld said.

The contretemps - and the threat of losing that cherished legal shield - had Mr Zuckerberg taking to Mr Trump's favourite news outlet to do damage control."I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn't be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online," Mr Zuckerberg said in an interview with Fox News.

Facebook took a different approach. Mr Trump shared the same mail-in ballots post on his Facebook page, but the company said it didn't violate its standards. Facebook's policy says it won't take down false content from politicians except in certain instances, such as posts that spread harmful coronavirus misinformation or encourage voter suppression.

PELOSI VIDEO Democrats criticised the company last year for failing to take down a manipulated video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which showed her slurring her words, suggesting she was impaired during an appearance. Facebook belatedly labelled the video as false, limiting its spread, but the company left up the content.

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