Patterico's Pontifications

6/19/2020

Twitter Beclowns Itself Again

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:29 am



Yesterday Donald Trump tweeted this satirical video:

It uses the well-known viral video of the two kids embracing and not noticing their race, to make a point about deceptive editing of videos. You don’t have to think the point is well taken or the satire funny to recognize it as satire. (The misspelling of “toddler” helps too. If you thought this was a real CNN video, I wonder how you can afford Internet service after giving your bank account information to a long train of Nigerian email scammers.) A functioning brain is really all you need.

It does not show up in the embed of the tweet above, but Twitter put a “Manipulated Media” warning under Trump’s tweet:

Manipulated Media

The link initially went to a page with Twitter’s Synthetic and manipulated media policy:

You may not deceptively promote synthetic or manipulated media that are likely to cause harm. In addition, we may label Tweets containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand their authenticity and to provide additional context.

You should be able to find reliable information on Twitter. That means understanding whether the content you see is real or fabricated and having the ability to find more context about what you see on Twitter. Therefore, we may label Tweets that include media (videos, audio, and images) that have been deceptively altered or fabricated. In addition, you may not share deceptively altered media on Twitter in ways that mislead or deceive people about the media’s authenticity where threats to physical safety or other serious harm may result.

Now it goes to this article:

Video being shared of CNN report on toddlers is doctored, journalists confirm

Multiple journalists confirmed that the video, which was shared by President Trump, is edited and features a fake CNN chyron. The original CNN story, which is from 2019, reported on a friendship between two toddlers.

“Journalists confirm.” Well thank God we have journalists to confirm that obvious satire never really happened!

Donald Trump lies all the time. Provably. On Twitter. Yet when they decide to deface his tweets with warnings, it’s always on something that makes Twitter looks extra stupid for doing it — like a warning on a prediction about the results of mail-in ballots, or obvious satire like this.

It’s as if they want to help him.

58 Responses to “Twitter Beclowns Itself Again”

  1. Had the same reaction. It takes a special talent to find the rare Trump statement that isn’t blatantly dishonest and single that out for criticism.

    lurker (d8c5bc)

  2. It’s as if they want to help him.

    They can’t help it. TDS rots the brain.

    frosty (f27e97)

  3. twitter actually directs the rioters, and deplatforms any criticism, they are the online bloc committee, actually that’s next door, three years they are torching and decapitating washington statues, but orange mad bad,

    narciso (7404b5)

  4. It doesn’t seem to take much to get into moderation these days. I’ve had 2 in 2 days with zero foul language.

    frosty (f27e97)

  5. This is stupid. No one at Twitter can be *this* stupid. There has to be some rule they’re trying to follow that yields this dumb result.

    Time123 (306531)

  6. Twitter is right. The second half of the video makes it look, practically says it, that it’s a real CNN “Fake News” story that was actually broadcast by #FakeNews CNN when it is only some fakey-fake parody of a CNN story to make a made-up #FakeNews straw man accusation.

    nk (1d9030)

  7. Time123 (306531) — 6/19/2020 @ 9:14 am

    I disagree and I submit nk’s comment as evidence.

    frosty (f27e97)

  8. Should a president be spending time making snarky ironical posts implying CNN exaggerates racism by posting something that looks like some weird racial scaremongering?

    Since when did incompetent troll mongering become a presidential task?

    Victor (a225f9)

  9. @6. Frosty, i got nothing.

    Time123 (cd2ff4)

  10. Should a president be spending time making snarky ironical posts implying CNN exaggerates racism by posting something that looks like some weird racial scaremongering?

    Since when did incompetent troll mongering become a presidential task?

    Victor (a225f9) — 6/19/2020 @ 9:24 am

    January 2016

    Time123 (cd2ff4)

  11. I think you mean 2017.

    lurker (d8c5bc)

  12. oops….

    Time123 (306531)

  13. Trump couldn’t find a genuine #FakeNews story, so he made one up. Twitter should ban him altogether.

    nk (1d9030)

  14. Victor (a225f9) — 6/19/2020 @ 9:24 am

    Ah, concern trolling. We’ve been spending so much time trying to decide who is and isn’t racists that I hadn’t missed it.

    Given the degree to which CNN exaggerates racism for ratings we all should be doing it.

    frosty (f27e97)

  15. All the media should embargo him.

    nk (1d9030)

  16. Frosty,

    I’m not sure if you’re implying that I am concern trolling. If so, I’d like to make my position clearer. I am concerned that our president is a racist incompetent greedy narcissistic asshole with mental issues. Spending any time at all worrying about when twitter does or does not correct Trump’s weird attempts on twitter to cater to his cult seems to me a waste.

    Oh and I use cult advisedly:

    https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/inside-the-cult-of-trump-his-rallies-are-church-and-he-is-the-gospel

    Victor (a225f9)

  17. I found and released over a dozen comments in moderation (from several commenters) that I can’t explain why they were moderated, and I don’t have time to figure it out. Some days are weird like that.

    DRJ (aede82)

  18. Based on my understanding of the facts — that Twitter slapped a warning label on there, but did not delete the tweet or anything of that nature — I think your criticism is misplaced. If you don’t think that there are people who didn’t realize that it was satire, well, let me just put it this way: there are a lot of people who give money to Nigerian princes.

    David Nieporent (07900b)

  19. DRJ (aede82) — 6/19/2020 @ 10:27 am

    Thanks, I was trying to figure out which words triggered the filter.

    frosty (f27e97)

  20. Victor (a225f9) — 6/19/2020 @ 10:04 am

    I didn’t think I implied anything. But just in case; you are concern trolling.

    frosty (f27e97)

  21. Victor said it better than I would have.

    Twitter is one of those things that is more relevant because it shouldn’t be. The worse it gets, the worse it gets.

    Dustin (e3a6ae)

  22. All who post on Twitter beclown themselves. It’s a place where narcissists display their overdeveloped personalities.

    Colonel Haiku (1d71cc)

  23. I think there are people who will believe this is a real CNN video.

    DRJ (aede82)

  24. So I wish he had left the CNN logo off. The point is worth making but not unfairly.

    DRJ (aede82)

  25. frosty,

    This is the definition of “concern trolling” I found:

    “the action or practice of disingenuously expressing concern about an issue in order to undermine or derail genuine discussion.”

    I don’t think I was disingenuous. I am quite openly and honestly attacking our president for being an asshole, and also openly and honestly criticizing the time spent on worrying about when and how Twitter chooses to point this out. This is not an attempt to undermine genuine discussion, but to contribute to it.

    If you see “concern trolling” in my doing so I’d appreciate your explaining how.

    Victor (a225f9)

  26. Marc Thiessen-
    Trump must reach out to black voters. His Tulsa rally is the place to start.
    …….
    …….. Trump’s Achilles’ heel has been his seeming lack of interest in not just rallying his base but also expanding it by winning over skeptics who did not vote for him in 2016 yet have benefited from his policies. The recent crises facing our country have provided a historic opportunity to sway these voters, one that Trump has so far failed to seize. It’s not too late to do so — and his Tulsa rally is the place to start.
    ………
    ……… Trump has had the national stage all to himself — and a golden opportunity to win over persuadable voters with his leadership. But instead of rising in the polls, Trump’s approval has slipped back down to the low 40s in most polls. Instead of gaining even more supporters, he lost his new converts.
    ……..
    During his Tulsa rally, the president should appeal directly to black Americans. He should express his solidarity with George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and declare his determination to reform the police and get rid of bad cops who mistreat our African American brothers and sisters. He should say that he stands with the peaceful protesters and that he will not be satisfied until the promise of equality is realized for every one of our citizens regardless of the color of their skin.
    ……..
    Wishful thinking. Trump has branded protesters as “thugs”, declared “solidarity” with police, and defended the Confederacy. If he flipped his positions 180 degrees within three weeks, his supporters would suffer a massive case of whiplash.

    Comedy gold!

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  27. I support reparations for our black Americans… with the caveat that the money used come from the Democrat Party, the party of slavery, KKK, Jim Crow, lynchings, etc.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  28. We already have made reparations: the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, preferential hiring, subsidized housing (in all its forms), food stamps and other welfare transfers, and various subsidized government loans programs. The only thing missing is the mule.

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  29. Who is going to pay us reparations for Trump?

    nk (1d9030)

  30. It’s Trump doing what he is best at — currying favor among the folks that love him (who also happen to hate CNN). It’s good, he’s good. It’s funny. It makes a good point. If he were only running the Trump campaign it’d be ok. If the country weren’t burning and the economy in the sh#tter it would be just fine. Trolling the media and blaming Dems isn’t going to set the country right.

    JRH (52aed3)

  31. NCAA bans championship events in Mississippi because of its flag
    The NCAA on Friday announced an expansion of its Confederate flag policy, banning all championship events from taking place in states where the Confederate symbol “has a prominent presence.” This applies only to Mississippi, whose flag features the Confederate emblem in its upper left corner.
    …….
    Mississippi never has hosted an NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament game but the state has been the site of numerous Division I women’s basketball tournament games, including each tournament between 2016 and 2019.

    On Thursday, Mississippi was warned by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey that the conference will consider not holding events there unless the state changes its flag.
    ………
    Mississippi State President Mark Keenum noted in a statement of his own that the school’s students and faculty have been pressuring the state to change its flag since 2015 and said he understands Sankey’s stance.
    …….

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  32. Rip Murdock, you think letting people vote and have equal access to public spaces count as reparations?

    Time123 (cd2ff4)

  33. @32-
    No. Sorry I didn’t make clear my sarcasm.

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  34. Oh, yeah i missed that. sorry

    Time123 (306531)

  35. Breaking-
    Navy Inquiry Faults Two Top Officers Aboard Roosevelt for Handling of Virus
    A Navy investigation has concluded that the two top officers aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt made poor decisions in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus on board the warship, according to a congressional aide.

    As a result, Capt. Brett E. Crozier will not be restored to command of the virus-stricken ship, and his boss onboard, Rear. Adm. Stuart P. Baker, will have his promotion to two-star admiral put on hold, the aide said. There will be no other punitive action taken against Captain Crozier.
    …….
    The decisions mark a reversal for Admiral (Michael M. Gilday, the chief of naval operations), who previously had recommended to his Pentagon superiors that command of the Roosevelt be returned to Captain Crozier, who was relieved in April after he pleaded for more help fighting the coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  36. Who is going to pay us reparations for Trump?

    Chicagoans will be too busy trying to maintain the “23 shot, 9 fatally in the last 48 hours” update of Chicago’s latest weekend to worry about reparations.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  37. We already have made reparations…

    The American taxpayer funded that list. I’m talking about you and your fellow Democrats, specifically. Democrat racism has been a stain on America’s soul for far too long. Reparations from Democrats may help ameliorate this sad situation.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  38. “ Trolling the media and blaming Dems isn’t going to set the country right”
    __

    Tell us again which party has owned and operated these urban centers of corruption, crime and violence for decades.

    Oh and Happy Juneteenth, celebrating when a US General freed all the slaves owned by Texas Democrats.

    _

    harkin (f5f3f1)

  39. Looks like Snapchat told Twitter to hold its beer:

    BuzzFeed News
    @BuzzFeedNews

    Snapchat says it’s sorry for a Juneteenth filter that required users to “smile” to break chains that appeared on the screen.
    __ _

    BLOOP!
    @susiemcdonnell
    ·
    “Snap CEO Evan Spiegel … told staff at an all-hands meeting he believes that publicly releasing diversity numbers “only reinforces the perception that tech is not a place for underrepresented groups.”

    Ah
    __ _

    Howie C. aka Yonder
    @NOBOslob
    ·
    I don’t think this plague is cutting it. We need a famine and maybe an alien invasion.
    __ _

    G III West
    @geowest96
    ·
    The aliens roll their windows up and lock their doors every time they pass Earth…

    _

    harkin (f5f3f1)

  40. Exactly. Because i want twitter to censor and comment on the POTUS when he tweets. I mean, who does the president think he is. Of course, when My guy biden becomes President, I’ll be mad as hell if Twitter tries to censor or comment on his tweets. Assuming that will ever happen. Which is won’t. because this has nothing to do with “fact checking” or “protecting the truth”.

    rcocean (fcc23e)

  41. “Oh and Happy Juneteenth, celebrating when a US General freed all the slaves owned by Texas Democrats.”

    Who do you think this type of argument is convincing? All the confederacy defenders are Republicans now.

    Davethulhu (9921df)

  42. “when My guy biden becomes President, I’ll be mad as hell if Twitter tries to censor or comment on his tweets”

    Do you think that Biden will also adopt the “Racist Grandpa” persona on twitter?

    Davethulhu (9921df)

  43. The NCAA on Friday announced an expansion of its Confederate flag policy, banning all championship events from taking place in states where the Confederate symbol “has a prominent presence.” This applies only to Mississippi, whose flag features the Confederate emblem in its upper left corner

    This applies only to Mississippi. I suppose if you cared about freedom of speech, or freedom of association, or the freedom of the people of Mississippi to have any kind of flag they want, you’d get upset at this. But we know how this will end. Some people in Mississippi will get upset, and then the BUSINESSMEN, will work quietly behind the scenes. Because $$$ is at stake. And look for Mississippi to cave if not by Christmas, by the end of 2021.

    Wow, Antifa, and left are REALLY flexing their muscles. What next do the rich anti-racists require us to do? What words will they ban or symbols? Whatever it is, you can be sure everyone will go along.

    rcocean (fcc23e)

  44. AP-NORC poll: Majority of Americans support police protests
    ……..
    The new AP-NORC poll finds 54% of Americans say they approve of the protests, while 32% disapprove. Another 14% say they hold neither opinion.

    More Americans think the protests will mostly change the country for the better than bring about negative change, 44% to 21%. A third say the protests won’t make much difference.
    …….
    Seven percent of Americans say they’ve participated in a protest in the past few weeks. While black Americans were significantly more likely to say so than white Americans, the poll found about half of those who said they protested were white.
    …….
    About 8 in 10 black Americans say they approve of the protests. About half of white Americans approve, while about a third disapprove.

    Overall, Americans are somewhat more likely to say the protests have been peaceful than violent, 27% vs. 22%, but 51% think there’s been a mix of both. White Americans are more likely than black Americans to call protests violent, 20% to 7%, though 54% of white Americans say there has been a mix.
    ……..
    A majority of Americans, 55%, say law enforcement responded to recent protests appropriately, while fewer, 44%, say they used excessive force. And 54% say President Donald Trump’s response to the recent unrest — he suggested sending the U.S. military into cities where local officials struggled to quell unrest, before later backing off the idea — made things worse.
    ……..
    Just 12% say Trump made things better…….
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  45. I support reparations for Blacks, as long as someone else pays for it. Why don’t we start a Gofundme and see how many White People contribute?

    rcocean (fcc23e)

  46. Man, Rip do you have a job? How many times have you IMMEDIATELY followed a post of mine with some off-topic Link? Incredible.

    rcocean (fcc23e)

  47. rcocean @43-
    As a private organization, the NCAA can hold its championships wherever it wants, and Mississippi isn’t banned from participating in the SEC or NCAA events. Mississippi schools don’t need to be part of the NCAA, they can form their own athletic organization and fly any flag they want.

    Just as NASCAR has banned the Confederate flag from its races, the constitutional rights of freedom of speech, or association, don’t apply to private organizations.

    But I’m sure you knew that.

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  48. so how many support the rioters and looters, have many have had homes and property damaged,

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8436483/Navy-sex-trafficking-scandal-Bahrain-sailors-pimped-Thai-prostitutes.html

    narciso (7404b5)

  49. @46-
    It’s my day off.

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  50. RIP Ian Holm

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)

  51. Twitter shouldn’t have deleted it, but they could’ve at least noted that Trump was producing FakeNews to b*tch about what he feels is FakeNews.

    Paul Montagu (d27749)

  52. 49… like that matters…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  53. RCocean,

    This applies only to Mississippi. I suppose if you cared about freedom of speech, or freedom of association, or the freedom of the people of Mississippi to have any kind of flag they want, you’d get upset at this. But we know how this will end. Some people in Mississippi will get upset, and then the BUSINESSMEN, will work quietly behind the scenes. Because $$$ is at stake. And look for Mississippi to cave if not by Christmas, by the end of 2021.

    I care deeply about freedom of speech and association.
    NCAA is free to say what they want and associate with who they want. As are the people of Mississippi.

    This isn’t about censorship, it’s about free people disagreeing about something.

    We’ll see if there are more people who agree with the NCAA that the confederate flag is offensive, or more people that agree with you and like the confederate flag. I’m guessing your team continues to lose like they have since 1860s.

    Time123 (cd2ff4)

  54. Local governments have the right – and importantly – a process to remove statues.

    Of course, there are many who’d prefer to use mobs and their attendant violence.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  55. The parents of a child in the video lodged a copyright claim, which is a legitimate reason to take the video down.
    But it is a bit strange that Twitter would see any need to warn viewers that something coming from this White House is dishonest.

    And faking a fakery is a pretty strange way to demonstrate that the news is fake. You’d think there might have been a glut of actual fake news that could have been used instead.

    Radegunda (89f220)

  56. Twitter is for twits.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  57. I mean I think the majority of Trump’s entire twitter feed is unserious trolling, but he is the president of the united states. It’s not like when foreign new agencies pick up on the Onion or the Babylon Bee and think it’s real. This is the official twitter feed of the POTUS. so unless Twitter just labels @realDonalTrump entirely as farce, I get why they have to slap some warning on. There are lot of people taking his feed very seriously – they shouldn’t but they are.

    tla (c651d4)

  58. Breaking-
    Barr Abruptly Seeks to Oust U.S. Attorney Who Investigated Trump Associates
    Attorney General William P. Barr on Friday night abruptly tried to oust the United States attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, the powerful federal prosecutor whose office sent President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to prison and who has been investigating Mr. Trump’s current personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani.
    ……
    “I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position,” Mr. Berman said, adding that he learned that he was “stepping down” in a press release from the Justice Department.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (212cb2)


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