City
Epaper

After Trump, Twitter fact-checks tweets from China's Foreign Ministry

By IANS | Updated: May 29, 2020 13:08 IST

Amid the growing tension with US President Donald Trump over fact-checking his tweets, Twitter has now flagged a couple ...

Open in App

Amid the growing tension with US President Donald Trump over fact-checking his tweets, Twitter has now flagged a couple of tweets posted by China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

According to media reports, the warning labels were added to tweets from spokesman Lijian Zhao, one of which read: "It might be the US Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan."

Twitter added the warning more than two months after the tweets were posted, reports The New York Times.

The warning tags are marked with a bright blue exclamation mark inside a circle, following with the text that reads "Get the facts about COVID-19".

Once a user clicks on the link, it takes him to a page of tweets from the World Health Organization (WHO), which emphasises that the virus appears to have originated in animals in China, rather than a virus laboratory in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.

Zhao's another tweet that originated in March criticised the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for a lack of clarity, alleging that it "might be" that the US Army was somehow involved in the pandemic.

In another tweet, the spokesperson linked an article claiming to have evidence that the virus originated in the US.

A Twitter spokesperson said that Zhao's tweets "contain potentially misleading content about COVID-19" and were labelled to "provide additional context".

Two days after Twitter inserted fact-checks into Trump's tweets, he hit back against social media platforms with an executive order on "preventing online censorship" and skewering Twitter for "political bias".

Trump's actions seek to blunt Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act which generally protects internet companies from legal liability for user comments.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: Zhao LijianusWuhanForeign MinistryTwitterDonald TrumpTwitter twitterTwitter sevaTwitter cmo
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalDonald Trump Imposes 100% Tariff on Branded Pharmaceuticals

InternationalDonald Trump Address on Iran War: US President Says Military Objectives ‘Nearing Completion’

InternationalUS President Donald Trump Says Iran Seeks Ceasefire, Will Consider When Hormuz Strait Is Open

InternationalUS President Donald Trump Urges Allies To Buy From US or “Go Get Your Own Oil” From Hormuz Strait

InternationalDonald Trump Claims US Military Destroyed Targets in Iran

Technology Realted Stories

TechnologySamsung, Mistral AI discuss cooperation in AI memory sector

TechnologyCAIT urges govt to curb growing malpractices of e-commerce platforms, seeks retail reforms

TechnologyIndian stock markets transitioning into consolidation phase with high volatility

TechnologyRBI likely to maintain status quo in upcoming policy meet: SBI Research

TechnologySamsung owner family to complete $8 billion inheritance tax payments