U.S. President Donald Trump has accused social media of "totally discriminating" against Republicans and conservatives, arguing that the platforms should allow both "good and bad" voices to be heard.
“Social Media is totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “Speaking loudly and clearly for the Trump Administration, we won’t let that happen. They are closing down the opinions of many people on the RIGHT, while at the same time doing nothing to others.”
"Let everybody participate, good & bad, and we will all just have to figure it out!" he said.
Trump waded into the fray as there is a growing debate on the role of social media in policing content online.
In recent months, Republicans have frequently claimed that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter discriminate against them, and the GOP has held several congressional hearings on the issue.
Facebook, Twitter and several other platforms have in recent weeks curbed or banned accounts of controversial right-wing host Alex Jones, whose radio show Trump appeared on during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In his tweets, Trump said it was "absolutely impossible to police" the sites, but reiterated that mainstream news organizations critical of him and his administration are "Fake News."
“If you are weeding out Fake News, there is nothing so Fake as CNN & MSNBC, & yet I do not ask that their sick behavior be removed. I get used to it and watch with a grain of salt, or don’t watch at all.”
Trump, a prolific Twitter user, has previously said that his administration would “look into” alleged “shadow banning” of conservatives on the platform.
Twitter has acknowledged that a new policy on hate speech has impacted the search results for some Republican congressmen. The company said the policy also affected some Democrats.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
