With just a few weeks to go before his inauguration, Donald Trump is on the brink of becoming the next President of the United States of America (you might have heard).
It’s a pretty big deal, to be honest. Mr Trump will find himself in charge of a number of important roles when he moves into the White House… Y’know, stuff like making sure the economy’s ticking over nicely, and deciding which countries to bomb next. That sort of thing.
But just because the man is a matter of weeks away from being sworn in as the Leader of the Free World, this still won’t be enough to make him exempt from being booted off Twitter.
An article by Slate questions whether a major social media network would shut down the official account of an American president. They write:
‘It’s a hypothetical question, of course – but not merely an academic one, given the president-elect’s track record of using social media to sow conspiracy theories, attack reporters, threaten political rivals, and call for religious discrimination.’
Having asked Twitter, who they point out have recently suspended the accounts of several leading pundits and activists from the ‘alt-right,’ the article goes on to say that a spokesperson for the company confirmed via an email that none of its users were exempt from its rules  – not even the POTUS (or POTUS elect) himself.
‘The Twitter Rules prohibit violent threats, harassment, hateful conduct, and multiple account abuse, and we will take action on accounts violating those policies,’Â the email read.
When pressed on whether that meant that, hypothetically, Trump himself could be suspended from the site if he were to violate one of its policies, the spokesperson added: ‘The Twitter Rules apply to all accounts, including verified accounts.’
You’ve been warned, Donald. Think before you tweet.
