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Trump did not mention any companies by name. On Tuesday,
Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc removed hundreds of
accounts tied to an alleged Iranian propaganda operation, while
Facebook took down a second campaign it said was linked to
Russia.
"Social Media Giants are silencing millions of people. Can’t do
this even if it means we must continue to hear Fake News like
CNN, whose ratings have suffered gravely. People have to figure
out what is real, and what is not, without censorship!" Trump
said.
Trump's comments come as the social media industry faces
mounting scrutiny from Congress over the policing of foreign
propaganda.
The Republican president in recent weeks has expressed concern
about the companies' actions. In an interview with Reuters on
Monday, Trump said it was "very dangerous” for social media
companies like Twitter and Facebook to silence voices on their
services.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia tried to
influence the 2016 presidential election by hacking and other
actions, including using social media in an influence campaign.
Trump criticized the social media industry last week, claiming
without evidence that unidentified companies were "totally
discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices."
Those tweets followed actions taken by Apple Inc, Alphabet's
YouTube and Facebook to remove some content posted by Infowars,
a website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Jones’ own
Twitter account was temporarily suspended on Aug. 15.
Representatives for Twitter and Facebook did not immediately
comment on Trump's tweet.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Steve
Orlofsky)
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