After US President Trump news of being diagnosed with COVID-19 was announced, social media was flooded with wishes of his recovery as well as some wishing him death. Social media companies have issued a clear message to the users: Any content that wishes for the death of anyone, including the president, will be removed.
On Friday morning, President Trump took to Twitter and announced that he and his wife Melania Trump have tested positive for Coronavirus. Wishes for his speedy recovery started pouring in from political leaders across the world. But some users used it as an opportunity to express their hate for him. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok have all announced that posts that express a desire for someone to die will be removed for violating each platform's user guidelines.
"Tweets that wish or hope for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against anyone are not allowed and will need to be removed. This does not automatically mean suspension,’’ Twitter said on Friday night.
Twitter has also asked its users to report any kind of online abuse or harassment. "Abuse and harassment have no place on Twitter," as stated by a spokesperson from Twitter. "We do not tolerate content that wishes, hopes or expresses a desire for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against an individual or group of people. If we identify accounts that violate these rules, we will take enforcement action.
In the past twitter has been incompetent in removing tweets featuring hate speech and threats of violence. Facebook and TikTok have said that they are also working on removing the posts wishing Trump death from COVID-19.
Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois tweeted Friday night that ,"To be clear, Facebook is removing death threats or content targeted directly at the president that wishes him dead, including comments on his posts or his page - in addition to content tagging him.”
A spokesperson for TikTok said, "content that wishes the death of any person, including the president, violates our community guidelines, and we remove such content as we become aware of it."
Doctors treating Trump said that he was fever free, however, added that his, "vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care."
Trump is admitted at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and on Saturday he tweeted that he’s feeling well and hopes to recover soon with the help of the doctors and nurses in the hospital.