Twitter used its new misinformation policy for the first time by flagging a tweet reshared by President Donald Trump that shows a manipulated video of former Vice President Joe Biden.
The video, originally shared hy White House social media director Dan Scavino and later retweeted by Trump, depicted Biden supposedly supporting the incumbent, saying, “We can only re-elect Donald Trump.”
The original, undoctored video, shows Biden sharing a message of Democratic unity. “Excuse me. We can only re-elect Donald Trump if in fact we get engaged in this circular firing squad here,” he said. “It’s got to be a positive campaign.”
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After announcing in February that it would label manipulated content, Twitter flagged Scavino as “manipulated media” on Sunday.
Scavino tweeted in defense, “The video was NOT manipulated,” which Trump also retweeted.
By the time the video was flagged it had been viewed more than five million times and retweeted more than 20,000 times. The “manipulated content” label, however, only appears when the tweet is shown on a users’ timelines, not when the tweet is searched for directly. Many of those who will see the tweet, despite the policy, will not get a warning. However, Twitter spokesperson Katie Rosborough told the Washington Post that the company is currently working on a solution.
