Snapchat will stop promoting Trump's account in Discover: 'We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice' (SNAP)
- Snapchat will not promote President Trump's account in the Discover section of its app, the company said on Wednesday.
- "We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover," a company representative said.
- The decision comes as Facebook has been embroiled in controversy over its handling of Trump's posts about the George Floyd protests.
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The decision comes after the president tweeted remarks that have been criticized as inciting violence against protesters participating in the demonstrations about George Floyd's death. Publications such as The Verge, Axios, and The New York Times first reported the company's decision.
"We are not currently promoting the president's content on Snapchat's discover platform," a Snap spokesperson told Business Insider. "We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover. 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 account on Snapchat is still public and visible to those who search for it or subscribe to it. But it will not be promoted in Discover, the section that houses content from news outlets, production companies, and stories curated by the Snapchat team.
Brad Parscale, manager for Trump's 2020 campaign, issued the following statement accusing Snapchat of trying to "rig the 2020 election."
"Snapchat is trying to rig the 2020 election, illegally using their corporate funding to promote Joe Biden and suppress President Trump," the statement read. "Radical Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel would rather promote extreme left riot videos and encourage their users to destory America than share the positive words of unity, justice, and law and order from our President."
.@TeamTrump statement from @parscale on Snapchat:— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) June 3, 2020
“Snapchat is trying to rig the 2020 election, illegally using their corporate funding to promote Joe Biden and suppress President Trump.”
FULL STATEMENT ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/JVjhQSUVbm
Snap's decision comes after CEO Evan Spiegel sent a memo to employees condemning racism and inequality and calling for change. Spiegel discussed the company's approach toward curating Discover content in his memo to staff, although he did not call out Trump by name.
Spiegel wrote:
"As for Snapchat, we simply cannot promote accounts in America that are linked to people who incite racial violence, whether they do so on or off our platform. Our Discover content platform is a curated platform, where we decide what we promote. We have spoken time and again about working hard to make a positive impact, and we will walk the talk with the content we promote on Snapchat."
The move comes as Snapchat competitor Facebook, the world's largest social network, is embroiled in controversy over its handling of Trump's recent posts. Facebook has refused to take action against a post from Trump that included the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." That rhetoric was used by a Florida police chief in the 1960s known for his harsh policing of predominantly black neighborhoods. Trump said he was unaware of the phrase's origins.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that while he had a "visceral negative reaction" to Trump's post, it does not violate Facebook's policies. Twitter tagged the same post with a warning label saying it glorifies violence.
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SEE ALSO: A billionaire tech investor is calling out Apple CEO Tim Cook for not speaking up publicly about the company's values amid protests over George Floyd's death
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* This article was originally published here
https://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-stops-promoting-trump-account-discover-racial-violence-concerns-2020-6
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