Facebook and Twitter remove 'racist baby' video posted by Trump

Facebook and Twitter on Friday pulled down a misleading video posted by President Donald Trump's accounts because of a copyright complaint. The move comes after Twitter on Thursday put a label on a Trump tweet that included the same video, saying the post featured "manipulated media." The tweet is still labeled, but when you click on the video it says "This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner."

Trump's social media posts featured an edited video with a fake CNN ticker that said, "Terrified toddler runs from racist baby." The clip shows a Black toddler being pursued by a white child. After that section of the video, the clip jumps to a "What actually happened" section, which shows the two boys rushing toward each other and embracing before the one playfully breaks away, and the initial footage kicks in. The video ends by suggesting that "fake news" is to blame for the debate over racial inequality that's happening across the US.

"We received a copyright complaint from the rights holder of this video under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and have removed the post," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. A Twitter spokesperson said the company also took action against the video because of a copyright complaint. 

CNN reported that Jukin Media, a company that represents the parent who owns the video of the toddlers, said that they believe Trump's use of the video violated copyright. 

Social media sites have typically stayed away from taking action on Trump's posts because what he says is considered newsworthy. Facebook doesn't usually send posts and ads from politicians to third-party fact-checkers. Still, social networks have other rules that even politicians aren't exempted from, such as policies about copyright, voter suppression or harmful coronavirus misinformation. 

Source: https://www.cnet.com/