What's happening with President Trump and SNS in a fierce conflict?
October 22, 18:46
From the 20th of this month, Twitter has changed the way of "retweet" when reprinting posts worldwide.
The user is displayed with a "quoted tweet" screen to write a comment, and a step to think about whether to really retweet has been added.
It is said that it is a measure to make the spread of tweets more cautious, but in fact it is deeply related to the US presidential election that has reached the end.
What's happening right now?
..
Conflict between President Trump and Twitter
Twitter said the move would continue until at least the week of the U.S. presidential election in early November, when Trump's sometimes misinformation tweets were "spread" by retweets. Is believed to be.
The conflict between the two is becoming more intense as the election day approaches.
Why is the honeymoon supposed to be a conflict?
President Trump's Twitter account has more than 87 million followers.
Twitter should have played a big role in solidifying support as the new coronavirus does not open large-scale rallies as expected, but why did it become a conflict?
The trigger was the presidential election four years ago.
Fake news spread on social media in this election, where Mr. Trump and Mr. Clinton fought fiercely.
It is said that it had a considerable influence on the election results.
US intelligence has determined that there was Russian intervention.
SNS companies such as Facebook have been strongly criticized for failing to properly check posts.
Conflicts of ideas and assertions that accompany the division of society are added to this.
Opinions calling on SNS companies to respond, saying that as society loses tolerance, the tendency to thoroughly attack people with different opinions on the Internet is increasing, and advertisements on the Internet by politicians are also fueling conflict. Has increased.
In response to this situation, Twitter banned political advertising.
Later, we announced a policy to display warning labels on potentially misleading posts regarding the new coronavirus.
The confrontation between Twitter and President Trump surfaced when protests against racism were widespread, saying in May, "We will control whatever difficulties we may have. Once looting begins, shooting will begin." President Trump's post was that Twitter displayed a warning label saying that it "contains content that praises violence."
Twitter continued to display warning labels on posts containing false information about President Trump.
On the other hand, the president, the ruling party, and the Republican Party strongly oppose that SNS is censoring the opinions of conservatives.
We are requesting the company to review its response, such as by insisting on a review of the operation of laws that exempt legal liability such as Twitter and Facebook.
QAnon to increase power
President Trump has also been criticized for increasing the number of radical ideological forces that are expanding on SNS.
One of them is "QAnon".
People who believe in the "conspiracy theory" claimed by an anonymous person who calls himself "Q" who started posting on Internet bulletin boards three years ago.
The claim is that "American political and business circles, and the media, are dominated by a deep state, a dark government of some elites."
The "Government of Darkness" is a group of childhood lovers who worship the devil, and President Trump is fighting against this group.
Citizens who believe so are believed to be connected on the Internet and sometimes voluntarily gather.
This QAnon is a reliable presence for President Trump, who is led by Mr. Biden in polls.
On October 10, about 200 people gave Spreichkor in front of CNN's bureau, which they consider to be "members of the Deep State."
Cars with flags in support of President Trump also gathered and showed great excitement.
QAnon's allegations in the case
However, there are a series of incidents by believing in the claim of "QAnon".
Last year, in New York, a supporter of QAnon killed a person who believed he was part of the dark government.
Following a series of incidents, the FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation has monitored QAnon as "highly likely to induce crime and violence."
However, President Trump has made statements that can be taken as showing his understanding to QAnon.
QAnon gaining influence in politics
QAnon's influence is no longer negligible in the world of American politics.
It is said that at least 25 candidates will support QAnon in the House and Senate elections that will take place next month at the same time as the presidential election.
One of them, Mike Cargile, a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in a constituency near Los Angeles, openly supports QAnon.
Mike Cargile
"I fully support the allegations against trafficking
in'QAnon'.
'
QAnon
' is trying to reveal the trafficking that some governments and leaders have hidden. There is. "
Journalists who continue to cover QAnon analyze that candidates like Cargile are trying to use QAnon's presence in their online strategies.
Journalist Travis Vue
"QAnon spends a lot of time online. For politicians who pay attention to themselves, they act as a digital" grassroots unit "and the candidates are in the election campaign. I think it's a plus for me. "
Cat and mouse on SNS and QAnon
With the spread of QAnon on the Internet, SNS companies are embarking on regulations.
Facebook and Instagram announced on October 6 that they will delete their QAnon account.
Twitter and TikTok have taken steps to make QAnon's posts less visible.
A popular app for conservatives
Nowadays, emerging SNS is a gathering of people who feel that they are being locked out of major SNS or are being censored unfairly.
One of them is "Parler".
It advocates no censorship and claims that it is "the only app that guarantees freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution."
It has a function similar to Twitter, and as of July, it has 2.8 million users.
Many of the users are conservatives who support President Trump.
One of the goals of parlor users is the former aides of President Trump.
Roger Stone, a former political adviser who was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for perjury and other charges over the so-called Russian allegations, and was subsequently exempted from sentence.
And Michael Flynn, who was the National Security Adviser under the Trump administration, is also using the parlor to make his own claims.
In addition, the parlor is also known to be used by members of the radical far-right group "Proud Boys" to increase support.
The first debate by presidential candidates this month.
Trump President, when asked to "Do not blame the white supremacy?" The moderator,
"The Proud Boys, stand back, and stand by.
"
Stated that (I Proud Boys, down behind, whether stand-by) ,
Controversial.
After this statement by the president, the leader of the group posted, "Pride Boys! Go back and get ready!"
He just responded that he had the backing of President Trump.
In the middle of this month, information that a rally in which both Proud Boys and QAnon will participate will be held in San Francisco has been distributed on SNS such as parlors.
On the day of the event, when the NHK interview team visited the plaza, which was the venue, hundreds of people, including a group believed to be "Antifa" who advocated anti-fascism, gathered one after another and began to protest the holding of the rally.
Then, a man who seems to have tried to hold a rally was beaten and kicked by the gathered people near the venue, and was protected by police officers.
The rally had a strange atmosphere and was closed in 15 minutes.
It is possible that groups at the other end of the spectrum sensed the other party's information via SNS, which led to a conflict.
Distrust of SNS companies' response
On the other hand, there are some who question the response of major SNSs that are trying to tighten regulations.
On October 14, an article that could affect the late election situation was published in the tabloid New York Post.
Biden was meeting with executives of the Ukrainian company in connection with the allegedly high-paying executive of the Ukrainian company's second son, Democratic presidential candidate Biden. ..
The newspaper allegedly obtained a copy of the hard disk containing the email data from President Giuliani, president's legal counsel.
Regarding this, Facebook announced that it will "reduce the number of times articles are displayed until the fact check is completed" based on internal regulations that prevent the spread of false information and foreign interference in elections.
Twitter has also taken steps to prevent the linking of this article from being posted, based on regulations that prevent the spread of personal information obtained through hacking.
On the other hand, President Trump strongly opposes, "It's ridiculous."
In addition, the ruling and Republican parties have also expressed their intention to summon Twitter executives to parliament, saying that it is "election intervention by social media."
Twitter changed the initial measures amid growing criticism of SNS support.
The response has changed a lot, such as making it possible to share the article with a warning to call attention.
Experts familiar with the relationship between SNS and politics point out that there was also a problem with the response of SNS companies.
Daniel Craith, associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
"Twitter and Facebook were not only unclear on the grounds for restricting the posting of this article, but were also poorly explained when they overturned their decisions. So, it's also true that the Tabroid newspaper hasn't fully verified the sources as a news agency. If it's a hoax, it will directly affect the voting behavior, so SNS companies must take decisive action. "
The US presidential election, in which the election campaign is restricted by the new corona virus and SNS is also the "main battlefield".
SNS companies are required to take stricter measures to prevent the spread of non-factual information and to amplify violence.
On the other hand, there are also difficult decisions to be made, such as how much regulation should be done and how much freedom should be allowed.
In the presidential election on November 3, there are concerns that conflicts over the election results may cause conflicts among citizens and disrupt society.
Can SNS properly fulfill its responsibilities for the realization of a fair presidential election?
The world is watching.
(Los Angeles Branch, Jun Oikawa, Fumio Sugaya,
International Department, Kozue Hamamoto)