back to article Trump issues toothless exec order to show donors, fans he's doing something about those Twitter twerps

Following a fit of indignation at Twitter's decision to apply a fact check notice to some of his recent Twitter messages, US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that purports to limit the liability protection afforded to internet platforms when they take action on user posts. But the nonsensical order …

  1. ecofeco Silver badge

    Worst American president ever

    I we thought the Bushes were bad.

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Worst American president ever

      They were. It's just that the current idiot in chief is well off the top of the old scale,

      1. Mark 85

        Re: Worst American president ever

        Well, he keeps telling us he's he best, etc. etc. etc.

        1. David 45
          FAIL

          Re: Worst American president ever

          Nah.....the BESTEST ever! I jest, of course.

          1. TechHeadToo

            Re: Worst American president ever

            He's made America numberOne the way he said he would.

            Number One in the world for killing citizens by deliberate stupidity

            1. DJO Silver badge

              Re: Worst American president ever

              No, #2.

              The USA has about 5 times our population but only 3 times as many deaths - Go UK, leading the world in pointless deaths.

              1. John H Woods

                Re: Worst American president ever

                The USA is climbing the deaths / million faster than the UK at this stage in the pandemic, although you are correct in that, according for some national adjustments for 'start point' the UK is actually the worst in the world.

              2. Spanners
                Meh

                Re: Worst American president ever

                The USA looks to pass us before it even gets to its 2nd, 3rd or 4th wave.

                I suspect that many countries have had a lot more people getting Covid-19 than they currently have given numbers for. I include the UK in that.

              3. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Worst American president ever

                The USA has solved the deaths problem with a system that doesn't count the all deaths accurately

                e.g. George Floyd was not murdered by cops, he had a breathing problem. My state only counts Corvid deaths in hospitals; deaths in nursing homes, deaths at home, or in jails don't count towards the total number.

                1. JDPower Bronze badge

                  Re: Worst American president ever

                  Are there that many people killed by crows in hospitals?

                  1. Shooter
                    Coat

                    Re: Worst American president ever

                    You might be surprised.

                    A group of crows is called a "murder" for a reason!

                2. DJO Silver badge

                  Re: Worst American president ever

                  The USA has solved the deaths problem with a system that doesn't count the all deaths accurately

                  That'll only work for a little while, the benchmark is comparing the average total death rate for the preceding few years with the current total death rate, the difference can be attributed to C-19 and related issues.

                  Very difficult to conceal the total number of deaths even if you do fudge the cause of death.

              4. Kabukiwookie

                Re: Worst American president ever

                You can thank the most recent governments for gutting the NHS for that.

            2. Kabukiwookie

              Re: Worst American president ever

              Number One in the world for killing citizens by deliberate stupidity

              They already were. Difference now is that's their own citizens for a change.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Worst American president ever

            I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!

            -- Donald J. Trump.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Worst American president ever

              Smart people show that are smart though their ACTIONS, not though their Talk. If you say your Smart, most likely your just the opposite.

              1. JetSetJim
                Coat

                Re: Worst American president ever

                Smart people also show they are smart through their grammar

                1. Kabukiwookie

                  Re: Worst American president ever

                  Smart people also show they are smart through their grammar

                  You seem to have misspelled 'smug'.

                  1. JetSetJim
                    Headmaster

                    Re: Worst American president ever

                    The amount of effort in proofreading the post was disproportionate, I have to admit

                    1. jake Silver badge

                      Re: Worst American president ever

                      That's OK ... there is a lot of proof missing in this entire discussion.

    2. Version 1.0 Silver badge
      Meh

      Re: Worst American president ever

      It's not all bad, I have "Make America Kittens Again" installed on Firefox so I can enjoy the stories by looking at the pictures and skipping reading. Politically it's time to flush the toilet as far as I see it but then I'd miss the Kittens because El Reg never posts stories about Borish and Dummanique.

    3. macjules

      Re: Worst American president ever

      Really do not think that one should be making fun of the mentally distraught. Mind you, I don't think you should be voting them into office as well.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Boffin

      @ecofeco Re: Worst American president ever

      Actually Trump is an interesting character.

      Many of the liberal minded el33t will focus on Trump's rhetoric and his banter.

      Its all noise.

      Remember that expression... "Action speak louder than words!" ?

      Lets consider what Trump has done.

      Prison reform? Check

      Boosted the economy prior to COVID-19? Check

      Low unemployment? Check

      Low unemployment for minorities? Double Check

      Pulled out of Paris Accord, yet US dropped CO2 production and dropped it lower than any other country (percentage wise). Check

      Opened talks w North Korea and repatriated US MIA/KIA remains. Check

      So I wouldn't say he was the worst. He inherited a mess and while hamstrung, did more that Obama did in 8 years. With one major exception... Obama's administration broke more laws than any other administration in recent history.

      I think you'll find History will be kind to Trump, Obama? Not so much.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @ecofeco Worst American president ever

        Yep Mike, and the list is far longer.

        - Renegotiated NAFTA

        - TPP is toast

        - Pressured China on trade (US cannot lose a trade war in any sense, China is exposed)

        - Title IX is being eliminated as the constitutional abomination that it is

        - Section 230 back on the table

        - Removed AHA "mandate" and lowered some cross border barriers in health care

        - Failed to start a war

        The list is really long.

  2. IGotOut Silver badge

    Simple Response.

    Twitter & Facebook just close his accounts.

    Nothing he can do. Private companies, their choice who they have on.

    He could of course always open up on TikTok.

    1. paulll

      Re: Simple Response.

      ,,,or WeChat, maybe?

    2. zxmar05

      Re: Simple Response.

      Bake the cake, biggot!

    3. Aladdin Sane

      Re: Simple Response.

      Anybody else love the image of Trump doing a TikTok dance?

      1. Kane
        Joke

        Re: Simple Response.

        "Anybody else love the image of Trump doing a TikTok dance?"

        No, and you should leave now and think about what you've just done. Go and sit in the corner of a darkened room and consider your actions.

        Mind bleach isn't enough...

        1. Aladdin Sane

          Re: Simple Response.

          He'd smash the Carol Baskin Savage dance, and you know it.

        2. JetSetJim

          Re: Simple Response.

          > Mind bleach isn't enough...

          Just don't invoke Rule 34

        3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
          Joke

          Re: Simple Response.

          "Mind bleach isn't enough...

          I think, you know, you could maybe use it inside, like, sort of a wash, or inject it maybe, Could we maybe look into that?

          1. Sanguma

            Re: Simple Response.

            The dastardly Democrats are heinously preventing him from drinking his Chlorine and Hydrogen Peroxide cocktails, made the way Mom used to make them. I've heard he's thinking of trying Fluorine cocktails next ...

            1. Tim99 Silver badge
              Flame

              Re: Simple Response.

              Or, perhaps, chlorine trifluoride (Wikipedia)? >>=====>

        4. Mike Lewis

          Re: Simple Response.

          My mind added a hula skirt. Sorry.

      2. nxnwest

        Re: Simple Response.

        He would topple over from the lift shoes. He's already 'leaning in'. Might resemble a watermelon at terminal velocity meeting the ground.

    4. Aussie Doc
      Pint

      Re: Simple Response.

      I was under the impression that they can't do that because they are seen as being official WH documents or something - I recall somebody taking this to the courts last year (I think).

      Likewise, he was not allowed to 'block' people on his twit? twat? for the same reason.

      Can't be bothered looking for the citations but am sure somebody who cares a bit more than me will find it/them.

      1. John H Woods

        Re: Simple Response.

        I have both the same recollection and the same apathy regarding this issue.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Simple Response.

        I don't think it was official WH docs, it was ruled that he can't block people because he is the president and doing so would be blocking free speech. 'His' argument was it is a personal account. It was ruled that as long as he is the president and is posting anything political anyone can comment on it, just as they can do in real life.

        I don't think Twitter can't be held to have to archive government documents, if they are classed as that, that's the WH job. There is the trump twitter archive.

        1. Spanners
          Devil

          Re: Simple Response.

          I suspect that, quite soon after Trump is replaced and the USA gets an adult for president again, Twitter and others will close his accounts.

          1. Kabukiwookie

            Re: Simple Response.

            soon after Trump is replaced and the USA gets an adult for president again

            And who would that be then? Presidential cabdidates are supposed to be the best a society has to offer. If that's true, Idiocarcy was (as I suspected) indeed a documentary.

            1. Geoffrey W

              Re: Simple Response.

              RE: "And who would that be then? "

              Anybody else. Including Mitt Romney or another fucking Bush. Even bloody Death with his scythe doesn't want this bugger so keeps Covid 19 away from him. I would never dream of wishing harm on anyone, but these are not normal times and my laughter would be heard across Tennessee if he ends up in intensive care, either from coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine, or bleach. I don't care - anything would work for me. I utterly detest the bastard and there aren't many I can say that about.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Simple Response.

                Your TDS is showing. You apparent adherence to badly reported statements demonstrates lack of credibility on your part.

                To take but one example.

                Bleach:

                Bleach is a disinfectant

                Chlorox and Lysol are bleaches and are thus also disinfectants

                Far UVC light is a disinfectant but not a bleach

                Therefore all disinfectants are not bleach

                The idea that when "disinfectant" was mentioned that "bleach" was intended is logically invalid

                1. Geoffrey W

                  Re: Simple Response.

                  I'm not trying for credibility, just stating a strongly held opinion formed over many years of watching this idiot at work, as are you, even if you are hiding said opinion behind an ad hominem. I formed my own opinion by watching and listening to his own words emitting from his own mouth.

                  I hate the fascist wannabe so stop diverting with silly nitpicks - that's Trumps job.

        2. genghis_uk

          Re: Simple Response.

          Correct - there is a big difference between what private companies and government can and can't do.

          Twitter is a private company and does not have to offer 1st amendment freedom of speech to anyone. Technically, they can do what they like and if they want to block you, well tough. There have been a lot of useless lawsuits issued and rejected regarding '1st amendment rights (that only apply to government) and Twitter/Facebook. They can delete posts as they see fit and have no obligation to keep them.

          Trump, as President (still doesn't sound right!) and, therefore, part of the government, is using Twitter to make proclamations so he lost the right to vet his account. Trump also has to abide by the 1st amendment and cannot interfere with freedom of speech - something he forgets... The White House (government) is responsible for making sure that Trumps idiotic ranting on Twitter is archived for future generations to laugh at.

          1. First Light

            Re: Simple Response.

            Laugh?

            More like cry, weep and gnash their teeth. Methinks it's the beginning of the end for the ol' US of A. I suspect so does Chairman Xi, hence the latest adventurist/irrendentist behavior from that corner.

      3. Shooter

        Re: Simple Response.

        There is both an official presidential Twitter account, and Trump's personal account.

        He prefers to use the personal account. Shut that one down. Force him to use the official account, or shut up.

    5. MacroRodent

      Re: Simple Response.

      > He could of course always open up on TikTok.

      I noticed that gab.com posted a thread advertising themselves below one Trump tweet. They said they already had created an account for Trump.

      Really wish he and his followers took their marbles there. This would improve Twitter considerably.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: Simple Response.

        "This would improve Twitter considerably."

        Roughly the same level of improvement as removing one turd from my septic system.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      @IGotOut Re: Simple Response.

      I don't think you get it.

      Taking an action to close a POTUS account would do more damage to the brand that they tried to create.

      And Twitter basically said that they would keep accounts of world leaders because of their importance.

      But back to a premise put by the author:

      "So when Twitter adds a fact checking notification to Trump's tweets, as it did for the first time on Tuesday, it can do without taking on editorial liability if it believes the material is objectionable, whether it's protected speech or not."

      Trump's EO will stand and its not as toothless as the law professor things.

      While the law is vague. Objectionable is a open ended statement. The courts would favor the plaintiff if someone sued them.

      The law itself is flawed and should have been removed or rewritten long before Trump hit office.

      Its like the CAN-SPAM act. Which actually made it possible for spam to continue and provided spammers protection.

      Zuckerberg actually gets it.

      What do you think will happen if these companies get sued and found to be monopolies in their space?

      I find that the Chinese Government is reprehensible over their treatment of Hong Kong as well as how they lied to the world about COVID-19. Should we then sign a petition to tell Twitter to take down their account(s) or FaceBook?

      Imagine if you're a Christian and all of a sudden your posts espousing your faith were censored because the guy censoring your posts was an atheist ? He found them objectionable. (Or vice-versa)

      Do you think that that site deserves to still receive the blanket immunity?

      Remember, Twitter , FB, Google are defacto monopolies.

      Trump may do foolish things. He's unpredictable. But you can bet he ran this past the lawyers in his administration before he signed it.

      Just saying!

      Mine's the flame retardant jacket. (Which is probably going to give me cancer...)

      1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

        Re: @IGotOut Simple Response.

        But back to a premise put by the author:

        "So when Twitter adds a fact checking notification to Trump's tweets, as it did for the first time on Tuesday, it can do without taking on editorial liability if it believes the material is objectionable, whether it's protected speech or not."

        Trump's EO will stand and its not as toothless as the law professor things.

        I'm.. not sure. See also my favorite copyright attorney's take on the matter-

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVhFeobdMv8

        Who also thinks it's a bit toothless. But it's still an EO. And presumably to gain teeth, it would mean amending legislation, ie 230 to clarify 'objectionable', or just remove shielding.. Which would open up a whole other can of worms. But I also think Twitter's created this problem by editorialising, and it's in a somewhat unusual position given it's become an/the official channel for the thoughts of POTUS.

        So just blocking this meme has been removed by a moderator POTUS would create PR problems. So in this case, it decided to replace the tweet with a 'fact check' statement, which would seem to be editorialising. So someone at Twitter's interpretation of the 'facts'.. Which in this case, Twitter got totally wrong, ie there have been plenty of problems with mail-in ballots in the US and pretty much everywhere it's used. Then there are apparent double standards, ie comments that could easily be considered objectionable coming from Twitter's own general counsel & head of integrity. So there's a rather apparent political bias at Twitter.

        But we're also living in interesting times, so the US has an election in November and there's this virus thing. Traditional in-person voting seems doable, just might take a little longer to queue*. But there's also a lot of fear around the virus, so will that fear disenfranchise voters? And if so, is that fear higher or lower in one side's voting population, which could obviously skew the results. Especially as I've seen a few pollsters saying Republicans are possibly less concerned than Democrats.

        *My local primary school has spray painted a bunch of lines on the path outside the school, with letters presumably as class** identifiers. They're not exactly 2m apart, and the letters are sprayed at the school entrance end rather than the end of the lines, which is an interesting use of queue theory.

        **Not that kind of class..

      2. Richard 12 Silver badge
        Mushroom

        Re: @IGotOut Simple Response.

        Except he didn't and hasn't.

        The Executive is simply not permitted to rewrite the law. The Congress writes laws, the Presidentdoes not. End of.

        The courts will strike it down because to do otherwise is telling the next Democratic president they can close down the Republican party for being terrorists or something - it's the same kind of thing.

        This is a sop to his base. Many will read the headline now, go yee-haw and never notice that in law it never existed.

        The danger is that it's clearly part of him trying to build a narrative to explain a future loss at the polls, and potentially incite serious violence.

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: @IGotOut Simple Response.

          "Many will read the headline now, go yee-haw and never notice that in law it never existed"

          Like his vote winning promise to re-open the coal mines. Since he became President, US coal usage has dropped by over 15%. I suspect that none of the mine re-openings or saving/increasing miners jobs has actually happened. I wonder how many of those miners will vote again for him? Or might they notice the lack of new mines and jobs?

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: @IGotOut Simple Response.

            He probably built a wall around the mines ... "out of sight, out of mind" & all that.

            1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
              Coat

              Re: @IGotOut Simple Response.

              ...and made the miners pay for it?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @IGotOut Simple Response.

          I do think you get it.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @IGotOut Simple Response.

        I don't think you get it.

    7. Someone Else Silver badge

      Re: Simple Response.

      If Twitter had balls, they's simply apply their T's and C's equally to the Twatter-in-Chief as it would to any of us plebs. Twatter-boy would have his account serially suspended, and by now he'd be banned.

      If Twitter had balls....

      Although I must say that the article's update indicating that they actually took down one of Twatter-boy's posts shows that they may be growing at least one...

    8. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Simple Response.

      I would recommend FansOnly to the POTUS.

  3. joeydiggs

    Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

    If he doesn't like it just stop tweeting DRUMF! It's a private company and they can do anything they want!

    1. Frumious Bandersnatch

      Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

      It's a private company and they can do anything they want!

      So is Blackwater.

      1. Frumious Bandersnatch

        Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

        To whoever thumbed me down ... you do know what "reductio ad absurdum" means, don't you?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

          Might have to ask Hermione about that one :)

          1. ratfox
            Happy

            Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

            It's a spell to make you very small. You can also take a potion labeled "Drink me"

            1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

              Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

              I thought it was a line from Nellie The Elephant...

      2. Pascal Monett Silver badge

        Re: So is Blackwater

        And that's exactly what Blackwater does : what it wants.

    2. Mark 85

      Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

      He can't stop Tweeting. He'll loose his base which cant' handle more than 250 words at any one time. And then there's the self-ego thing of his which he reminds everyone regularly (in 250 words or less).

    3. Headley_Grange Silver badge

      Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

      What he doesn't like is people talking back to him and telling him he's wrong. No one's ever done it to him - neither as a kid, as a business owner nor as president. Anyone that does gets fired. He's just trying to stop Twitter doing it to him.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

      Anyone remember the episode of veep where the aides suddenly realise the veep is tweeting and have a full meltdown. "The vice president is tweeting"...

      I wonder if that level of panic happens in the WH or if its now just a shrug...

      1. Blank Reg

        Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

        I suspect that every desk in the white house has a drawer fully stocked with booze just to help them make it through the day.

      2. jake Silver badge

        Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

        What is (was?) "veep"?

        1. Sanguma

          Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps "veep"?

          "veep"? - vat a "viper" becomes ven it has no more vindows to vipe.

        2. Psmo

          Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

          Veep is this. An US reading of British political satire tradition.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @JoeyDiggs Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

      If he doesn't like it just stop tweeting DRUMF! It's a private company and they can do anything they want!

      No they can't do anything they want.

      Sure they are private companies.

      But they still have to work within the law.

      Now suppose this were Obama and not Trump.

      Obama would have had the IRS perform endless audits on the company, and all of its executives.

      Don't believe me... just ask Lois Lerner

      Not to defend Trump, but his EO will stand. Why? Because all it would do is strip a shield that prevents them from getting sued.

      BTW, if someone sues the US Government over this EO... it will take years and it will end up in tSCOTUS. Obama had a record number of his EOs deemed illegal well after the damage was done.

      Here. very little damage will occur.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Joke

        Re: @JoeyDiggs Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

        "end up in tSCOTUS"

        Is that t'Yorkshire branch?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @JoeyDiggs Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

          It seems to me one or two (or three???) Trumpansees have made it to El Reg's fora.

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
            Joke

            Re: @JoeyDiggs Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

            One might be luck, two could be a coincidence but three or more is "monkey see, monkey do"

    6. Tigra 07
      Thumb Up

      Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

      "It's a private company and they can do anything they want!"

      Within the law. They; Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Google straddle a legal technicality, where they are not publishers, but are editing and choosing what content can be published on their platforms. Trump absolutely should resolve this issue as Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Google have become far left echo chambers to content they agree with, and intolerant to legal content they disagree with.

      Whether you sit on the left, the centre, or the right, the current situation is not right. Google wields enough power to affect elections, and has spoken about trying to influence elections in their favour. If it's bad when the Russians do it then you should be equally outraged when Google's CEO is recorded talking about doing it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

        "far left echo chambers"

        Yes, I don't use Facebook but my wife says it's absolutely full of memes like "A spectre is haunting Europe", "Débout les damnés de la terre", "The US administration are all faceless imperialistic running dog paper tigers" and "The State shall own the means of production, distribution and exchange."

        The problem with all these sites in reality is that they allow people to publish any old bollocks, even the US President, and there are plenty of stupid and malicious people (even the US President) that swallow it. But trying to shoehorn in your own ridiculous left wing conspiracy theory is just adding to the noise.

      2. genghis_uk

        Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

        The difference is that right wing speech tends toward hatful ranting about race and religion. This is generally not tolerated on any platform (outside the xChan forums) so it gets removed. Is this bias against the right or the fact that the right spouts more intolerant speech? A few cases where content has been moderated vs the vast quantity of posts that are not doesn't really point to censorship of the left. Don't spout bigoted bullshit and you won't get your posts removed. It's not difficult, and social media has no requirement to allow hate speech under any form of amendment.

        Social media straddles the line and has legal protection because without some form of protection they would be sued into oblivion every time someone posted an item that upset someone else. Enough people try it now, imagine what it would be like without Section 230?

        Trump's EO is just playing to the fanbase. The FCC has no authority to do anything to a website, the FTC has the authority to act against 'unfair and deceptive acts' but, as this is just cry-baby talk, nothing will be done here either. The AG could become annoying with anti-trust investigations etc. but that is already happening to a certain extent and the Section 230 bit of the order is pretty much word spaghetti. Twitter is liable for what it posts but not the posts of others - in this case it posted a fact check on Trump's inaccurate rant about postal voting... I can't see how that could possibly be affected by 230 and removal of posts that violate Twitter's T&C's is perfectly within their rights with or without 230. The only meaningful bit of the EO is the part about not spending government money on Ad's - good luck with that in an election year!!

        1. Someone Else Silver badge

          Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

          the difference is that right wing speech tends toward hatful ranting about race and religion. This is generally not tolerated on any platform (outside the xChan forums) so it gets removed.

          I see you haven't been near Fox News or OAN recently.

          1. genghis_uk
            Pint

            Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

            OK - point taken... --->

        2. Someone Else Silver badge
          Coat

          Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

          Social media straddles the line and has legal protection because without some form of protection they would be sued into oblivion every time someone posted an item that upset someone else.

          Yeah, and I get mightily upset by just about all of tRump's utterances. Hell, if it weren't for Section 230, I'd be rich!

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
            Coat

            Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

            "tRump"

            Is that a Yorkshire steak?

            1. jake Silver badge

              Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

              Not a steak. A roast.

              ::insert 13 year old boy's locker room joke about rump roasts farting here::

        3. G Olson

          Re: Trumpetsters Trumpet Drumpfs Lumps

          And left wing speech tends toward hateful ranting about the meme du jour. This is generally not tolerated in civilized society

  4. Frumious Bandersnatch

    Pique Trump?

    Nah, X=X is a tautology.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Pique Trump?

      QED

  5. paulll

    "Even after Mark Zuckerberg kissed up to the president, Facebook was still hit by the order. Sad, as one would say."

    Yeah, it's heartbreaking :)

    1. Tigra 07

      RE: Paulll

      Which is probably why Mark Zuck is currently criticising the decision of Twitter to do this.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Thoughts and prayers

    So, you're a Trumpette, you follow Trump, you believed he'd bring you $20/month health care and drain the swamp, make America great again, lots of catchy phrases dreamt up by his marketing guys, perhaps you thought he'd be Reagan MkII? You swallowed the lies hook line and sinker. As a Republican you'll typically be older, and have the illness that age brings, and as a result, the next wave will probably kill you and your friends.

    So understand that your death is intentional. It's planned by Republican strategists, the same guys that made the catchy lies, planned your death.

    Take a look at the US cases. Notice new cases peaked about April 3rd/4th in the USA. The incubation period is 11 days. Those cases were seeded 11 days earlier.

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

    Now take a look at the Republican messaging from 11 days earlier:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-restrictions.html

    "Trump Says Coronavirus Cure Cannot ‘Be Worse Than the Problem Itself'...The president, ...says restrictions will be reassessed"

    So, just as you were breaking the exponential spread, the Republicans were already trying to undermine quarantine. It could be over by now, done with. See France? It had its peak the same day, and its done now. That could have been you if Republicans weren't intentionally keeping this going.

    You know how after School shootings, Republicans tweet "thoughts and prayers blah blah blah now is not the time to act blah blah"? Until it became a daily occurrence and now they don't even get mentioned in a tweet now? Kids get shot, so what, says Fox News.

    Well you won't even get a 'thoughts and prayers'. The other 100,000 didn't. You won't even get a mention on the Fox News Chyron.

    1. Mark 85
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Thoughts and prayers

      So, if it's the older population that dies then there goes the Congress, the Supreme Court, and much of the Executive branch including the guy at the top. Not to mention many of the top corporate guys.

      Unless this the result of younger operatives in the party, someone didn't think this through. Or did I read your post wrong?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Thoughts and prayers

        Come election time, Republican states will suppress elections citing safety concerns. For that they need to reseed the epidemic and suppress mail-in ballots.

        Both of which are in progress now.

        I'm showing you the clear timeline before the gaslighting begins.

        1. Glenturret Single Malt

          Re: Thoughts and prayers

          In recent weeks, I have seen the word "gaslighting" used a lot. What does it mean?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Thoughts and prayers

            @"I have seen the word "gaslighting" used a lot."

            No you haven't, you just made that up.

            1. Someone Else Silver badge
              Coffee/keyboard

              Re: Thoughts and prayers

              @AC: Stop it, Dammit! - - - >

          2. John H Woods

            Re: Thoughts and prayers

            (this might be a whoosh but ...) Gaslighting means trying to undermine other people's perception of reality: presenting false information to people in a manner which makes them doubt their own memory, understanding or perhaps even sanity. Etymology is from the play "Gas Light" by Patrick Hamilton in which the protagonist interferes with the gas supply (used for lighting) to his house to convince his wife that her perception that everything is getting darker was her encroaching insanity.

          3. jake Silver badge

            Re: Thoughts and prayers

            "What does it mean?"

            It means that the speaker (typer) is pretending to be an intellectual.

          4. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Thoughts and prayers

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTS5XsZe9Jg

            What's Gaslighting? (Individual, tribe, and societal gaslighting) - Dr. Ramani Durvasula

      2. Mongrel

        Re: Thoughts and prayers

        Unless this the result of younger operatives in the party, someone didn't think this through. Or did I read your post wrong?

        I think the missing word in the rather good summation is 'poor'.

        You're only a real person to the GOP if you're a rich white guy

        1. Spanners
          Meh

          Only a real person

          You're only a real person to the GOP if you're a rich white guy

          There are a few other less absolute filters, including

          Over a certain age.

          Claim to be "Christian" but ignore major parts of New Testament teaching. Or some parts of Jewish.

          Straight.

          Dislike brown people and all foreigners - AKA "patriotic"

          1. Kev99 Silver badge

            Re: Only a real person

            One of the few commonalities between almost all religions is the Ethic of Reciprocity, aka Golden Rule.

            https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_reciprocity

      3. Shooter

        Re: Thoughts and prayers

        "So, if it's the older population that dies then there goes the Congress, the Supreme Court, and much of the Executive branch including the guy at the top. Not to mention many of the top corporate guys."

        No, the people you mention will all be fine. They will have access to daily testing and the very best medical care money can buy.

        Grandma and grandpa Joe Public, however, are screwed.

    2. Cederic Silver badge

      Re: Thoughts and prayers

      Nice political diatribe. I guess I shouldn't criticise you though, the article's author threw in unrelated politics at the end of the article too.

    3. Someone Else Silver badge

      @ AC -- Re: Thoughts and prayers

      Your points are well taken. But here's the thing: The Repos are killing off their own supporters. The older, WASPy folks more susceptible to the virus, the MAGATs wandering around demonstrating to "open up America", the folks congregating in Wisconsin bars after their Governor's stay-at-home order extension was thrown out by a Republican state Supreme Court at the behest of the Republican legislature (Separation of Powers? Yeah...we've heard of it....); all these things will result in killing Republicans to a much larger degree than they will kill off Democrats. Republicans are already a minority party1; these actions appear to point to an end result of making them an even smaller minority. If this were unintended, it points to the stupidity of the Repo's shortsightedness. And if it were intentional, it points to the stupidity of the Repo's thought processes.

      Bottom line: Repos are stupid.

      Q.E.D.

      1Must clarify: Repos are a minority party in numbers; they would never allow actual minority people to join their little club, except as tokens or figureheads (ref. Clarence "Lapdog" Thomas, Ben Carson, Herman "I don't have facts to back this up" Cain).

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So, the country that created the Marketplace for Ideas

    is about to become the Marketplace for Libel Lawyers?

    Perhaps they can take some tips from the UK.

    1. Peter2 Silver badge

      Re: So, the country that created the Marketplace for Ideas

      The UK Libel laws exist for a reason. The reason is that the only way of dealing with the period equivalent of a twitter hate mob spreading nasty rumors was to publicly challenge the person responsible to a duel. If the person refused, they would be forever branded a coward in polite society and would cease to be welcome pretty much anywhere.

      If they came along to a duel then the protocol was not shooting both at the same time, but the aggrieved party would shoot first, the offender would accept this and then take his shot if he was still alive. The idea is not to shoot somebody with a ~.75 caliber pistol ball at 12 paces, but to persuade the person that actually apologising and desisting from upsetting the other person would be a jolly good idea. If they did apologise, that was the end of the duel.

      Dueling was thoroughly illegal even at the time; it was just effectively the only option going to protect your reputation. Hence, the libel laws penalties were upped to the point that you could legally destroy somebody to provide an alternative to a pistol ball. However, equally the aim remained not to destroy somebody but to persuade the person that apologising, admitting that their claims were without actual foundation and they'd made their claims and stopping was their best option. And if they came to that conclusion before even upsetting the person, so much the better.

      Hence, you'll note that if you publicly apologise and admit that your claims were baseless in the UK that's a bar against legal action being taken against you. You only end up in trouble if you double down on your baseless claims.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So, the country that created the Marketplace for Ideas

        The UK Libel laws exist to protect the Rich and Powerful from being found out and to enrich the Libel Lawyers.

        1. Peter2 Silver badge

          Re: So, the country that created the Marketplace for Ideas

          Very poor quality trolling.

          "truth" is an absolute defense against libel or slander, so if you can prove what your saying is true then your fine. For instance, I could say that you are tremendously ignorant of the facts that pertain to the UK libel laws and just making things up, and you couldn't possibly sue me because it's factually indisputable.

          If you prefix something with "in my opinion" then it's a matter of your opinion so even if your opinion is not actually correct then your fine as if sued you could simply say "My bad, I was wrong" and it's effectively impossible to prosecute you.

          The only time you can get sued really is if you make a claim that does not have a factual basis, claim that it's true and then refuse to acknowledge your error.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: So, the country that created the Marketplace for Ideas

            Truth is not an absolute defence against Criminal Libel.

            1. Alister

              Re: So, the country that created the Marketplace for Ideas

              Truth is not an absolute defence against Criminal Libel.

              There's no such statute any more in the UK.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So, the country that created the Marketplace for Ideas

        I really liked your piece of proze, to me it was an excellent read!

  8. Forget It
    Thumb Up

    Thanks ElReg for this reasoned article.

    The mainstream media just ate the bait.

    Thumbs up the Reg.

  9. jake Silver badge

    So how long before ...

    ... the idiot in chief claims it wasn't a real EO, he was just being sarcastic. And besides, he had his fingers crossed when he signed it, so it doesn't count anyway. But the LiberalMejia fell for it! Look how good a President I am! I'm The BESTEST President ever!

    1. Evil Auditor Silver badge

      Re: So how long before ...

      It is quite amazing: whenever you think it can't get worse, time and again the Tremendously Stable Genius proves that it can do "worster".

      Now I start to wonder, when will the time be that the gun toting libertarians draw the conclusion: this is why we have the 2nd amendment, this is the tyranny our founding fathers feared. Well, it's not going to happen for the true tyranny is state-imposed health insurance etc. /sarcasm

    2. Someone Else Silver badge

      Re: So how long before ...

      His fingers are too short and stubby to cross.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So how long before ...

        And smell of cat.

  10. Danny 2

    when the looting starts, the shooting starts [interrobang]

    ....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!

    Not sure that tweet can be fact checked by Twitter. Maybe by a psychiatrist.

    1. Someone Else Silver badge

      Re: when the looting starts, the shooting starts [interrobang]

      Tweet was taken down. Go Twitter!

      (I can't believe I just posted those last two words!)

  11. Grikath

    Not so sure it will be ineffective...

    IANAL, but,,,,,

    The problem for the big social media platforms may not be that this executive order may or may not be effective in and of itself. Their big problem is that it weakens their protection on one of the more contested powers on their platforms: their ability to edit or even delete self-published material, even though anything published may well not be illegal/obscene/whatever at the location of publishing.

    Trump is, by far, not the only one that has run into the rather...haphazard.. and uniquely US-centric morality of "staff editing" that takes place on social media platforms. He's simply one of the top-profile ones, who doesn't have to run the infamously opague and boobytrapped hurdles to figure out what in your post has offended the Powers that Be on your social platform of choice so that it doesn't get published, or even gets you an appointment with the Banhammer.

    Between the litigious nature of US society, and the rather sizeable group of people who feel Offended by censorship actions on social media platforms, the indirect effect ( and possibly actual purpose) of this executive order is the threat to open the floodgates to a deluge of lawsuits which up until now were blocked by that lovely little special protection of those social media platforms. Death by Papercut....

    Trump himself may be the self-evident embodyment of the "cockwomble", but even while he may not be the brightest bulb in the bunch, his handlers are not stupid. And the threat of a ton of lawsuits that cannot be directly attributed to the Presidents' Office is a lovely little crowbar.

    And so subtle that most news outlets have missed this implication outright.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

      "...whether or not such material is constitutionally protected."

      The law allows for stifling constitutionally protected political and other speech that Social Media companies don't like. OK. It is now, 30 odd years later appropriate to ask whether that right and protections afforded by para 230 should be ejected, modified, maintained or indeed more tightly interpreted.

      This is a reasonable discussion, completely independent of who is POTUS. The issue was swept under the rug because the players overwhelmingly favour Democrat Party causes.

      IMHO, putting this whole discussion back in the Overton Window is a good thing.

      The very fact that we can now have the conversation again is a plus.

      The "it's their platform" brigade with their absolutist view of property seem unaware that abridging property rights for the good of the commons is a really common act of government and indeed the administrative branch. Weighing freedom of expression in the de-facto forums of public discourse over absolute property rights is a trade off.

      Google is a gatekeeper of the Internet's store of knowledge and also an effective monopoly. Curating political content is not their job and doing so is counter productive in a free society.

      1. Chris 15
        FAIL

        Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

        ...what an absolute load of piffle!

        It's Twitters' property, intellectual and otherwise. They get to choose who can use it as a platform, and what speech is and isnt acceptable on it. End of debate.

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

          Apparently your downvoter hasn't read the fine print in Twitter's Terms Of Service, Chris.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

          ... and yet the debate continues.

          SCOTUS spends a lot of time balancing between separate rights. This will be another such case.

          What I find most amusing is that the CDA was an attempt to reign in pr0n on the internet and lots of it was struck down. pr0n has driven internet tech despite the CDA.

          The discussion of whether social media has become the de-facto Town Hall Square is front and center now, and it seems Zuck is one of the few who grok what's happening and where it might lead.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      They didn't edit his post

      They didn't edit his post, it is there unedited. He's claiming ability to suppress the surrounding links. In a similar way he claimed he could block followers. He lost that claim in court.

      I think the next big test for social media will be the Minnesota, autozone window smasher case. They web can smell blood.

      https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/jacob-pederson-auto-zone-cop-not-umbrella-man/

      "Jacob Pederson Is Not the AutoZone Umbrella Man, St. Paul Police Say" (a denial that he's the named policeman).

      The video of a caucasian man with a hammer and mask and umbrella smashing autozone windows one by one. An apparent agent provocateur to give cause for police to attack the protest.

      The man is wearing a full breather mask, black shirt black pants, black umbrella, black boots, black rucksack. Respirator appears to be a Honeywell, $252 mask:

      https://www.grainger.com/product/HONEYWELL-NORTH-Full-Face-Respirator-3A183

      Pursued by a black man in pink t-shirt, white short pants, untied black boots, smoking a blunt and carrying a pizza box. T-shirt has 'bringing back the village' on the back and pizza box has 'delivery delivery' on it.

      Random people are claiming window-smasher is a police officer, Jacob Pederson, St Pauls police are denying its him.

      There is a second video, a continuation of the first, the pink guy is still with him, the man in black uses the umbrella to hide the hammer as he puts it away in his backpack. Pink guy is not as confrontational and appears to now be walking alongside the man in black without either trying to escape the other.

      https://tuckbot.tv/#/watch/gsl79n

      It all looks dodgy as hell.

      Pink guys roles is ambiguous, he only pretends to be carrying a pizza early on, later on its tucked under his arm. How many other people do you see wearing bright pink? He seems to be a cartoon black man right down to the untied boots, and spliff, yet clean t-shirt. Easily identifiable pink.

      As they leave, police are tear gassing the protests, so its very handy the man-in-black has that full respirator on!

      These two would be clear targets for arrest. Yet they were not arrested. And they are clearly identifiable.

      So, you see lots of people with cellphones and cameras videoing this incident. There will be lots of footage available. The social web will tear it apart if it isn't suppressed.

      Remember the fake Joey Salads Trump video?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE9-EIJSCc4

      Double check everything anyone tells you.

    3. naive

      Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

      This executive order is meant to support democracy. A democracy can only work if people can take informed decisions, we allowed google, youtube, facebook and others to monopolize information sharing between people. If they actively suppress information or tag certain information as being bad, it restricts the way citizens can inform themselves. The steps president Trump took are appropriate.

      Lefty lawyers may cry victory because it can not be enforced, but these companies know loopholes will get fixed and if they continue to serve as a platform exclusively for supporting leftist and CCP views, several of them might end up in anti-trust litigation and will get broken up.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

        Is that Trump Kool Aid(tm) nice and tasty? Don't think, keep slurping!

        Don't like something? Must be a lefty plot

      2. Alister

        Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

        The steps president Trump took are appropriate.

        Hahahahahaha!

        You're funny.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not so sure it will be ineffective...

        THE ACCOUNTNAME IS SURROGATE FOR

        /S

  12. Scott Broukell
    Meh

    Social Media Distancing

    Perhaps things would improve in all manner of human realms if we all practiced Social Media Distancing, just a thought.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Social Media Distancing

      Some of us have never got close to any of the main social media platforms. We have not caught the SMA (social media addiction) Virus and hopefully we never will.

      Like one other post, I think that the world would be a better place if they simply ceased to exist.

      Fat chance of that so I'm keeping around 100m away from it all just in case.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Social Media Distancing

        "Some of us have never got close to any of the main social media platforms"

        And yet you're here.

        The gazillion discussion forums that infest the internet don't count? I have never understood the distinction you are logically making here. Help me out.

  13. IareFlash

    Lets be honest, he is having a blast

    This 73 year old wanker (not fact checked) has managed to lie and cheat through his life to get himself rich, a media star of his own TV show and now POTUS trying to sign into the constitution laws that stop people saying not nice things about him. He literally does not give a fuck any more. If he died tomorrow he would die with a smile on his face.

    His campaign polices come straight from Jacob Zuma; the reason he wants to stop mail-in-ballots is so he can give his voters free fried chicken outside the voting booths when they tick the right box.

    He does what he wants, he says what he wants and nothing and nobody will stop him. Even if he is pulled up in court and made accountable, by the time the case is completed he will most likely be dead from old age.

    Have any of the media ever asked him "Do you honestly give a fuck about anything or anyone other than yourself?"

    I blame the parents.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: If he died tomorrow he would die with a smile on his face

      <sigh> Why is it always for tomorrow ?

    2. Richard 12 Silver badge
      Holmes

      Re: Lets be honest, he is having a blast

      He didn't make himself rich. His dad did.

      Trump can't even run a casino.

      1. Sanguma

        Re: Lets be honest, he is having a blast

        Trump can't even run a casino.

        In a world where the dice are always loaded in favour of the casino, that says a lot about Trump, doesn't it? When he couldn't come out on top when the dice were loaded in his favour, ... Poor, poor US of A.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Lets be honest, he is having a blast

      It may not be fact checked but I get the impression that Trump is so narcissistic that even when he sticks his member into a woman, it's still technically wanking as other people are not real to him.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I doubt he's having a blast

      He's received $130 million from selling the secret service full rack rate rooms. He's probably made the same from Republicans and Pence and foreign governments currying favor booking his hotels. Yet he still had to borrow $11 million on a really long 30 year mortgage in order to buy her house off his sister (next to Mar a Lago). He's broke. Money defines him, he wanted to pretend to be a billionaire.

      This is a man worried his shit pile is about to collapse on him.

      I bet when the smoke settles, they'll find he's skimmed off hundred of millions from the bailout money to keep his 'empire' going.

      Sure he's trying to get police to shoot black people and kill a bunch of old white people with a deadly virus, but what's the point if he is broke? The guy isn't defined by the hate he can spread, or the division he can do, his self image is based on money, and he has none.

      You see Steve Mnuchin? I think he gets as thin as the skin on the dollar bubble they're inflating. He is soooo skinny now. He knows its all gonna pop. You can see him wasting away.

      They're all churning out the hate on auto pilot. I don't think its fun for them, they just don't know what else to do when its all going wrong.

      Obama was always going to be a difficult act to follow. Restored confidence on the dollar, united the world around the US. How do you follow that? Spew hate on Twitter?? Nobody hangs on his words like they did on Obama, even Twitter now adds a 'parental bullshit advisory' on his tweets.

    5. jake Silver badge

      Re: Lets be honest, he is having a blast

      "This 73 year old wanker (not fact checked) has managed to lie and cheat through his life to get himself rich"

      Actually, his initial wealth was his daddy's money. Which he lost. Trump is living proof of that old adage "The fastest way to make a small fortune is to start with a large one". Hell, the idiot even managed to lose money owning a casino!

  14. don't you hate it when you lose your account

    Freedom of arrest

    Just watching cnn crew being arrested in Minneapolis.

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Freedom of arrest

      Contrary to popular opinion, here in the US "The Press" can indeed be arrested if they are doing something illegal.

      Solution: Don't do anything illegal.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Big Brother

        Re: Freedom of arrest

        No one seems to know what the illegal act was though. When being arrested, the arresting officer is supposed to tell you why you being arrested as well as reading you your rights. From the live video feed, neither of those appear to have happened. The reporter has since said that the arresting officer said he was "only following orders".

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Freedom of arrest

          So was Eichmann. It sometimes seems that post WW2 Prussian mentality has sprung up in the US police.

          I remember a talk by an Army officer about conditions in Iraq in which he mentioned in passing that the rules of engagement were so strict that soldiers had less discretion on the use of lethal force than civilian police in England.

  15. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    Wow. What a whiny ass little b**ch.

    Sorry I can't come up with some penetrating comment, but that's basically how I feel.

    Again note they are not stopping you reading anything.That exaggeration alone qualifies him and his supports as WAB's.

    Twitter are just pointing out that what you're reading is highly suspicious, if not an outright lie.

    Given the astonishing reverence in which the Office of the President is held by Merkins (It must be true, he wrote it) that seems rather a mild comment.

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Wow. What a whiny ass little b**ch.

      "Given the astonishing reverence in which the Office of the President is held by Merkins"

      That word "merkin", I'm not sure it means what you think it means.

      Although, given the subject matter, maybe I'm wrong :-)

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Wow. What a whiny ass little b**ch.

        Trump is actually a lot smaller than he appears on TV. A merkin is what he wears on his head.

      2. Alister

        Re: Wow. What a whiny ass little b**ch.

        Jake, merkin has been used as a synonym for Americans since usenet days, despite it's other meanings.

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: Wow. What a whiny ass little b**ch.

          Do you honestly think I don't know that?

  16. Warm Braw

    FCC is an odd choice seeing as it cannot regulate...

    ... anything very much at all, apparently.

    Given that Trump has an entire national TV station devoted to spreading his every lunatic utterance, his problem is not that he does not have the technical apparatus to communicate to the masses.

  17. Sanguma

    Is it true

    that Donald Trump is the direct lineal descendant of Piltdown Man? Or Nebraska Man? Or of them both? Inquiring minds wants to know!!!

    1. anthonyhegedus Silver badge

      Re: Is it true

      He's the direct lineal descendent (about 4 generations back) of something that crawled into a tree stump and died.

    2. jake Silver badge

      Re: Is it true

      Lines one, two and three for Sanguma ... Line one are lawyers claiming to represent the fine citizens of Nebraska asking for a retraction. Line two is similar from the Piltdown area of East Sussex. Line three is a preemptive call from the Order of Florida Man who make absolutely no claim on the genetics of the idiot in chief, despite the fact that he shoots himself in the foot on a daily basis.

      1. Sanguma

        Re: Is it true

        Thanks for the laugh. I gave you an upvote for it.

        Piltdown Man

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piltdown_Man

        The Piltdown Man was a paleoanthropological fraud in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human.

        Nebraska Man

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Man

        They then passed the tooth along to William K. Gregory and Dr. Milo Hellman, who agreed that the tooth belonged to an anthropoid ape more closely related to humans than to other apes. [...] According to these discovered pieces, the tooth belonged neither to a man nor an ape, but to a fossil of an extinct species of peccary called Prosthennops serus.

    3. Shooter

      Re: Is it true

      I had never heard of Nebraska Man until now, so thanks for that.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: Is it true

        How about the Cardiff Giant? (That's New York, not Wales ...)

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    @El Reg, teach your authors some basic journalism

    The author wrote:

    On Wednesday, coincidentally, the US officially surpassed 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, meaning, if all figures are to be believed, America is home to 28 per cent of global coronavirus deaths and four per cent of the world's population.

    And more than 40 million people in the States have claimed unemployment benefits during the pandemic. ®

    Updated to add

    Overnight, Twitter hid a Trump tweet, posted amid civil unrest in Minneapolis and elsewhere over the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, that said the US military should open fire on people on American soil. The tweet "violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence," according to the social network.

    First the comment about COVID was completely off topic. I work for a global company. So far in the US none of our employees have succumbed to COVID. However in the UK, I know of 1 death of a young coworker due to COVID. How the UK handled COVID was abysmal. So why publish this fact on an article about Trump's EO? (Clearly its to evoke an emotion and shows bias)

    The second thing about Twitter.

    Anyone with any common sense would see that these officers crossed the line and should be charged. This is one of a handful of cases where there is evidence that the officers broke the law. Yet we have rioting in the streets. Note, this isn't just people doing a protest march or hanging outside the police station. But people actually looting and causing mayhem. Some armed.

    Do I agree with Trump's tweet? No. However that doesn't mean his tweet should have been censored.

    BTW, US Military can't operate within the US. National Guard troops can. That's something lost on many, including Trump.

    1. DoctorPaul

      Re: @El Reg, teach your authors some basic journalism

      Remember Kent State?

      1. disgruntled yank Silver badge

        Re: @El Reg, teach your authors some basic journalism

        @DoctorPaul

        By Kent State, I assume that you are referring to the Ohio National Guard. Most of the time National Guard units are under state control, though the federal government can put them into US service.

        @Miketfr

        During the 1967 riots in Detroit, the Michigan National Guard went in to restore order. As was common at least then with National Guard units, they were under-trained. I don't think the Guard then had training in riot control, and certainly their fire discipline was deplorable. Some poor guy was shot when he lit a cigarette while standing in a dark window.

        The US then sent troops for the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. I doubt they had been trained in riot control, but they were otherwise far better trained, and they improved matters as the Guard had not.

        It is certainly unusual for regular troops to be used for such purposes, but it does happen.

    2. doublelayer Silver badge

      Re: @El Reg, teach your authors some basic journalism

      Do you really fail to see the link between the death count and the tweets concerned? The proposal and fight over mail-in ballots is a result of a risky situation. The death count helps to indicate why the situation is risky. Without the high death count, there would not be a situation leading to the call for mailing ballots. Without that call, there wouldn't be this argument among political figures about the legitimacy of doing that. Without that argument, the tweets that are the subject of the article would not exist.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @El Reg, teach your authors some basic journalism

        Public Health is a local and State matter. This is why we see a NYC Commissioner of Health and hear so much from DeBlasio (Kaiser Wilhelm) and Cuomo on the matter. If you want to see badly handled SARS-Cov-2 response, look no further than NY and NJ. Those two states alone skew the US statistics massively.

        Cuomo sentenced old people to death by ordering aged care facilities to re-admit Covid19 positive patients, despite thos facilities being ill-equipped to deal with infectious disease. 5-10,000 dead. For this knowing and despicable act he should be publicly pilloried and run out of public life forever

  19. Only me!
    WTF?

    Free Speach

    Is this the same D Trump that wanted to ban people replying to his tweets because he did not like what they said.....one rule for him and another for the masses.

    Twitter / Facebook, etc. are full of people from all sides saying whatever they like.....but there needs to be some rules for ALL to abide by, otherwise society just falls apart and it is everyone for themselves. Now I am not religious (unlike Mr D Trump....cough, I believe him!), but I am sure that there is no religion that says "I am alright, so sod you", but I could be wrong!

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I didn't vote for Trump

    Nor did a majority of Americans

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I didn't vote for Trump

      I didn't vote for Trump neither. Nor did my fellow Dutch people. lol

  21. DrXym

    The absurdity of that order

    Any horrible, vile, racist, trolling content could be framed as "political" with a tiny amount of effort. Is that supposed to mean that Twitter, Facebook shouldn't be able to ban people or block content for those things?

    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Unhappy

      "Any horrible, vile, racist, trolling content could be framed as "political" "

      Well yes.

      Look at who signed the order.

      He reminds me of that unflattering term for managers as "Nappies"

      Like such people he's full of s**t and always hanging round the back of an issue to make some cheap points.

    2. Noel Morgan

      Re: The absurdity of that order

      I think this is what Trump is hoping for.

      The people who post vile, hateful and usually wildly inaccurate information are the ones who have most to gain from this. They don't want people encouraged to check their sources.

      Usually the more sane among us are happy for people to question and have debate about opinions.

      If this ever happens (i don't believe it will) expect a lot more outright lies and misinformation on the internet. You won't be allowed to question it.

      I also agree with someone elses comment, his inital tweet wasn't amended, or deleted. It was just suggested that you might want to check the facts. If that scares him so much - you have to wonder why....

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The absurdity of that order

        Since mail voter fraud happens, and demonstrably so, the fact checker got it wrong.

  22. ken jay

    How can you get both sides of a story if you are being forcefed the side of the narrative that the people who control you want you to hear, the germans thought hitler was brilliant in the 1930`s and if you were a german during these times he probably looked good coming out of a war. so if we allow all social media companies to carry on pushing just the side that either the bots programmers or the socially inept call centre workers point of views are and be hidden from the world just because you are different and may need a little more proof.

    1. Franco Bronze badge

      "How can you get both sides of a story"

      That's exactly Trump's endgame, to make sure you can't. Classic dictator tactics, he has denounced most of the news media as "fake" and told his supporters to get their news from him, which worked as long as Twitter was playing ball and not treating Trump's account the same as all the others

    2. Chris 15
      FAIL

      Bothsides blather, logical fallacy, Poe's Law reference, freeze peach nonsense! Quite the cocktail of stupidity persent in that comment in my opinion.

  23. Jonathon Green
    Trollface

    I like Americans. They’re funny.

  24. eldel

    One thing to be amazed at

    So much narcissistic delusion in so small a mind. It's amazing it all fits.

  25. Kev99 Silver badge

    Land of the Free? Not if Comrade Donnie has his way

    Such bastions of freedom and democracy like Putin, Xi, Kim, Khomeini, Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Park, Peron. etc executed (key word) this sort of malarkey. The MAGAts cry out about how their rights, both real and imagined, are being taken away by the "libtards" but they say nothing when the ornageman does it. Hypocrisy? Ignorance" Bigotry" Old fashioned stupidity? Take your pick.

  26. Someone Else Silver badge

    But...but...but, the theaters are all closed!

    But the nonsensical order doesn't really do much at all. As Eric Goldman, law professor at Santa Clara University, put it in a phone interview with The Register, "It's political theater."

    Political Theater is tRump's stock-in-trade. It is the only thing he does well (for small values of 'well').

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: But...but...but, the theaters are all closed!

      Political theatre is who taboo subjects get moved into the Overton Window and become legitimate subjects for the national conversation.

      I guess non-Americans are too dim to actually understand how this works.

  27. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Go

    I actually agree with Trump

    He's doing it for all the wrong reasons, but social media sites pouring a constant stream of effluent into society has to stop somehow. If those helps that happen then I'm in favour.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I actually agree with Trump

      Anonymous because a lot of people's brains short circuit at "I agree with Trump" but I had the same thought. Twitter, FB and the like exercise a lot of editorial control in practice, acknowledging that and getting a handle on it isn't a bad thing regardless of what sparked it or who did it. Social media is still young and turbulent, I think this is actually a reasonable part of the feeling out process despite how it came about.

      If you disagree, imagine <politician you hate here> had instead chosen to quietly become the referee of what's allowed on one of the large platforms and tell me again you disagree. Because they control the entire conversation, not just what they and their reporters publish like traditional media, even a subtle agenda could be disastrous.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: I actually agree with Trump

        "Because they control the entire conversation"

        And they always have. That's why most of it isn't worth the electrons(photons) used for transmission. The sooner people realize this fact, the better off we'll all be.

  28. Anon

    A new amendment! The really bigly one!

    Would a president of the USA push for an amendment to the constitution of the USA that requires a presidential candidate to take a sociopath test - and be declared as /not/ a sociopath - before being allowed to be their president? I'm sure the current president could pass, of course ;)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A new amendment! The really bigly one!

      After he wins a 2nd term his first order of business will be to repeal the 22nd amendment

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: A new amendment! The really bigly one!

        How, exactly? I mean exactly what power do you imagine POTUS has to do that?

        Short of Civil War 2.0 and a congressional declaration of such, or the Norks nuking us, it seems unlikely.

  29. Just Great

    In the best interests of both parties, to protect both of them, until the EO issue is resolved Dumps twitter account should be suspended.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So it seems a lot of people with TDS never seem to have heard of the Common Carrier Exemption ..

    ..or were around in the early days of the WWW back in the '90's when online companies first got it.

    Or are aware of the mountain of case law since, well 1934, on the subject.

    In a nutshell , once a comms company is no longer a simple transmitter of information from source to destination, but starts making editorial decisions on the information it transmits, its no longer a Common Carrier. And a shed load of FCC and other regulation kick in. And a world of pain from essentially unlimited legal liabilities.

    Twitter and Facebook both crossed that line in the last year or two and will soon discover the hard way just how wide ranging the lawsuits they will be hit with will be. Its going to be tort lawyers / class action lawsuit heaven as social media companies becomes personally liable for absolutely *everything* that is posted on their platforms once they lose the Common Carrier Exemption.

    Maybe the guys at Twitter should have asked the old hands at AT&T's legal dept just how many battles they fought over the decades to make sure they never did anything that might jeopardize their common carrier exemption status. Even the Consent Decree battle was less important in the bigger scheme of thing.

    1. jake Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: So it seems a lot of people with TDS never seem to have heard of the Common Carrier Exemption ..

      Nice rant. Unfortunately for your argument, the big IntraWebTubes AntiSocialMedjia companies are not considered common carriers, and never have been. (ISPs were, for awhile, in the US anyway ... and probably will be again, but that's not what we are talking about here.)

  31. IareFlash

    Don't blame the gun...

    So if BLOTUS is trying to make Social Medial responsible for content; can we not use this "flawless" logic to make gun manufacturers responsible for their content.

    Or would that be too much?

    He doesn't want to talk about that particular elephant any more.

  32. Cederic Silver badge

    the US military should open fire on people on American soil

    Sorry but that is shoddy reporting. The tweet did not say that and misrepresenting it like that demonstrates that The Register is putting clicks ahead of accuracy; a woeful lack of integrity and demeaning the journalistic credibility of the entire site.

    Twitter hasn't taken action against people that actually are glorifying violence, by supporting or even encouraging the riots and looting; claiming that the tweet in question is in breach of their glorifying violence rules is a clearly political act in itself. Their choice, but The Register should not be joining them, let alone creating its own false news.

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

      Excuse me? Are you hard of reading, Cederic? The section of the tweet referenced said "Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

      How could you possibly interpret that as anything other than as ElReg reported it?

      1. Cederic Silver badge

        Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

        Well, for a start, he doesn't ever say that they should start shooting.

        Sorry, but I happen to understand English.

        1. Cederic Silver badge

          Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

          Hell, I hadn't even see this update:

          https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266434153932894208

          Perhaps the explicit, "I don't want this to happen" will suffice for The Register to stop misrepresenting him.

          1. Dan 55 Silver badge
            Stop

            Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

            Odd how he manages to drop these 'dog-whistle' quotes (not for the first time) in his tweets yet somehow it's explained away as meaning exactly the opposite.

            Where does the phrase 'When the looting starts, the shooting starts' come from?

            "There is only one way to handle looters and arsonists during a riot and that is to shoot them on sight. I've let the word filter down: When the looting starts the shooting starts," Headley said, according to a New York Times report from 1970.

            On Friday afternoon, Trump tried to defend his remarks, tweeting, "Looting leads to shooting, and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night - or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot. I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means...."

            He probably doesn't want to see it happen in the same way that John Gotti doesn't want to your family get hurt, i.e. it's a threat.

            1. Cederic Silver badge

              Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

              He's also stated that he didn't know of that reference.

              https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-calls-george-floyds-death-a-terrible-thing-2020-05-29/

              Perhaps you can agree with him that George Floyd's death is a terrible thing?

              Me, I agree with Barack Obama, that people that burn down buildings and loot premises are criminals and thugs.

              https://nypost.com/2015/04/28/obama-calls-baltimore-rioters-criminals-and-thugs/

          2. jake Silver badge

            Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

            Cederic, you seem to be either the most gullible person posting to ElReg, or a worse troll than our bob. Either way, what do you think you are going to accomplish here? Do you really think that you are going to change the mind of anybody reading your words? Or do you just find it fun to post garbage and potentially waste peoples time?

            1. Cederic Silver badge

              Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

              Gullible? I don't get that. Help me out here, who's the gullible person? The one that reads something and understands its context, or the one that goes "I hate this man, he's evil, I'm going to believe this misrepresentation of what he said even though it makes no logical sense and goes against all of the available evidence"?

              I'm not expecting to change anybody's mind. I just don't inhabit echo chambers. I disagree with the interpretations and representations being posted, and post evidence to support my disagreement. Something I notice that all the people downvoting me and personally attacking me are not doing.

              1. Danny 2

                Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

                Hitler was nice to his dog. And Goebbels was his Reich Minister of Propaganda.

                Trump's tweet isn't a misinterpretation by anyone than you. It's a quote from 1967 Miami police Chief Walter Headley. Trump, and every other white American, knew what he meant.

              2. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: the US military should open fire on people on American soil

                Sad, aren't they.

                I also have a history of being misquoted and attributed statements that I never uttered and motives that don't exist.

                It's weak minded people who think they can mind read and impose their own confirmation bias on what they hear, subtly changing the words and meaning in their heads to resolve their own cogdis.

                I truly understand you.

        2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
          Unhappy

          "Sorry, but I happen to understand English."

          No, you don't.

          What you'd done is fail to make a fairly straightforward inference based on the rest of the text.

          Have you ever been checked to see if you're anywhere on the Autistic spectrum?

          1. Cederic Silver badge

            Re: "Sorry, but I happen to understand English."

            According to the NHS I do have an autism spectrum disorder.

            It must be frustrating for you that subsequent clarifications support my interpretation of his words. I would show empathy but...

            1. This post has been deleted by its author

              1. Cederic Silver badge

                Re: According to the NHS I do have an autism spectrum disorder.

                Where at any point in this discussion did I say I admire Trump? The only politician whose views I've said I agree with is Barack Obama.

                I don't need help. I'm not the person struggling to read, comprehend or think. I'm just not standing quietly by while others lie about someone else. Maybe autism helps with this, that innate sense of fairness, the ability to think with logic rather than just emotion. But hey, at least I'm not making personal attacks.

                1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
                  Unhappy

                  "I don't need help. I'm not the person struggling to read, comprehend or think. "

                  Actually you are. You just don't know it.

                  In some fields the ability to literally only read what's on the page is an asset.Proof reading instruction manuals comes to mind. Or being a criminal defense lawyer so you can ignore what are clearly implied threats being made by your client would be another (which is sort of what is happening in your defense of Trump)

                  In this environment you're inability to infer, to read between the lines, is a major handicap.

                  1. Cederic Silver badge

                    Re: "I don't need help. I'm not the person struggling to read, comprehend or think. "

                    I have a lifetime of experience of being wrongly told that I mean X when I say Y, by people that think they can read between the lines, that tell others lies about me as a result. You'll have to forgive me if I've started countering this behaviour where I see it.

                    If reading between the lines means pretending that someone said something that they didn't, that they've subsequently stated is not what they meant (as well as not what they said) and that conflicts with their actual actions, I'll keep my so-called handicap thanks.

                    I'm slightly deaf too, would you like to mock me for that as well?

                  2. jake Silver badge
                    Pint

                    Re: "I don't need help. I'm not the person struggling to read, comprehend or think. "

                    I think it's time to invoke Formosa's Law and move on, so I am doing exactly that.

                    A round for the house, beertender.

                  3. Anonymous Coward
                    Anonymous Coward

                    Re: "I don't need help. I'm not the person struggling to read, comprehend or think. "

                    "In this environment you're inability to infer, to read between the lines, is a major handicap."

                    No, it's not a handicap. Reading between the lines is confirmation bias by another name.

                    1. Bernard M. Orwell

                      Re: "I don't need help. I'm not the person struggling to read, comprehend or think. "

                      > No, it's not a handicap. Reading between the lines is confirmation bias by another name.

                      The inability to read between the lines, gain inference, or observe from another point of view (empathy) are signs of sociopathy.

            2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
              Unhappy

              " According to the NHS I do have an autism spectrum disorder."

              Well I hope you're getting the help you need.

              So you're a British Trump admirer. You don't think Covid 19 is also some kind of conspiracy as well by any chance?

              Again those "clarifications" don't mean what you think they do.

              "I would show empathy but..."

              For those readers who don't get the reference (I suppose you may be thinking that was a "joke") lack of empathy is a marker symptom for autism spectrum disorder or antisocial personality disorder.

              Now putting a bunch of both groups together to see how they interact would provide some interesting (and potentially hilarious) viewing.

              You should probably quit while you're behind.

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Give him the chop

    To all social media companies: Don't mess about. Just close all the orange idiot's accounts, along with any appertaining to the White House. The whole world has had enough of Trumpy's meaningless rants and ramblings. The man is not fit to be president.

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Give him the chop

      "The whole world has had enough of Trumpy's meaningless rants and ramblings."

      Be careful what you wish for ... If that's reason enough to nuke his so-called "social" media accounts, said "social" media would have to get rid of most of their more vocal subscribers. Even the ones whose rants and ramblings you personally agree with.

      "May you live in interesting times." —NRAACS

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Give him the chop

        I would be happy to see the back of any rants and ramblings regardless of side even if I agree with the side they are on. It's the reason that, despite being an atheist, I detest Richard Dawkins.

        Social media has given a platform to the most irrational, the loudest and most extreme views and the extremists, who know it well, are leveraging it to the harm of us all. Though I personally do not use Facebook, I'm uncomfortably aware that conspiracy theory nonsense turns up in my wife's "feed" (is that the word?) and on several occasions I have had to painstakingly prove to her that there are people of her own political views who spout nonsense. The facts of what is going on are bad enough without people on all sides making things up for clicks.

        It's even affecting print journalism - Ian Hislop just forensically took to pieces the entire Cummings story on HIGNFY, including the Spectator publishing a deliberately misleading article by his wife. And once upon a time the Spectator was worth reading.

    2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Unhappy

      "The whole world has had enough of Trumpy's meaningless rants and ramblings."

      Says the man(?) posting AC.

      Freedom of speech.

      Not just for nice people.

      But let's stop this. Twitter didn't censor his tweet. They simply put a fact check label on it warning it's probably BS.

      The actual removal of the second one is at the sites discretion. Just like every other social media site.

  34. Aussie Doc
    FAIL

    Proof at last...

    Is it considered too crude to refer to Pimplethinskin as a fucking moron?

    Sorry, but he is really not a well man and the rest of his 'team' need to be held accountable for not reigning him in.

    It will take the US a long time to recover if they ever get rid of him.

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