SAN FRANCISCO: Snapchat would no longer promote US President Donald Trump’s account in its Discover section for recommended content.
The youth-focused social network said Trump’s incendiary comments last week made the account ineligible for the curated section where users explore new content.
“We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover,” the company said in a statement. “Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America.”
Trump’s Snapchat account consists mostly of campaign content and does not contain the statements he regularly uses on his favorite platform Twitter. Snap sid the account will remain public and accessible to people who follow it or search for it.
Democratic rival Joe Biden, who is seeking to oust Trump in the November presidential election, capitalised on the move. In a video posted to Snapchat, he said that he was proud to run for president “and still be on Snapchat.”
Trump campaign manager accused Snap of trying to rig the election by promoting Biden while suppressing Trump’s content. He said Snap promoted “extreme left riot videos” and encouraged users to “destroy America”.
Snap said the Discover section features voices across the political spectrum. Snapchat Chief Executive Evan Spiegel told staffers in a memo condemning what he said was a legacy of racial injustice and violence in the US.
Snapchat will not promote accounts in the US that are linked to people who incite racial violence on or off the messaging platform, said Spiegel.
“Every minute we are silent in the face of evil and wrongdoing we are acting in support of evildoers,” Spiegel wrote as companies responded to the outrage over the police killing of a unarmed black man. “I am heartbroken and enraged by the treatment of black people and people of colour in America.”
The company said its decision to remove the president’s content from Discover was made over the weekend.
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