Searches on Twitter for the term ‘racist’ are surfacing President Donald Trump’s name as the top result under ‘accounts’
- Searches for ‘racist’ on Twitter surface the account of President Donald Trump
- Twitter its algorithm links terms commonly associated with accounts
- The phenomenon comes as Trump and Twitter battle over how the president’s tweets should be handled
Queries on Twitter for the term racist are now leading users straight to the account of US President Donald Trump.
On Friday, users across Twitter documented the phenomenon which pulls up President Trump’s page as the number one option under ‘accounts.’
As of Friday evening, MailOnline was still able to replicate the results by typing ‘racist’ into the platform’s search bar.
According to a report from CNET, Twitter says that the linkage between ‘racist’ and President Trump’s account were likely a product of its algorithm which ties accounts to common terms associated with them.
In this case President Trump’s name has been frequently seen alongside anti-racism tweets from people supporting Black Lives Matter and calling attention to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The linkage of Trump’s Twitter account and the term racist also comes on the heels of controversy between the President and the platform.
Twitter recently made the decision to hide one of President Trump’s tweets about protesters in Minnesota behind a notice that claims the post is ‘glorifying violence.’
The platform also took the unprecedented step of fact-checking one of President Trump’s tweets that claimed mail-in vote results would be ‘fraudulent.’
Its decision to check the President on Twitter was followed by an executive order aimed at removing protections that prevent social media companies from being liable for content posted on their platforms.
Twitter has come toe-to-toe with President Donald Trump after the platform fact-checked a tweet claiming mail-in voting results would be fraudulent. Picture: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey
The Center for Democracy and Technology has since sued the Trump administration saying:
‘CDT filed suit today because the President’s actions are a direct attack on the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment,’ according to chief executive Alexandra Givens.
‘The government cannot and should not force online intermediaries into moderating speech according to the President’s whims. Blocking this order is crucial for protecting freedom of speech and continuing important work to ensure the integrity of the 2020 election.’