Twitter Tagged Trump's Joe Biden Video "Manipulated Media"

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump, once again, tested the limits of social media. Retweeting a manipulated video of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden seemingly endorsing Trump, Twitter and Facebook have gone in different directions towards how to handle the video.

Trump retweeted the post from Dan Scavino, the White House's director of social media. The video shows a stump speech by Biden in which he says, "Excuse me. We can only reelect Donald Trump if we in fact get engaged in this circular firing squad here. It’s got to be a positive campaign." However, Savino's tweet cuts the video immediately after Biden says "We can only reelect Donald Trump."

Sleepy Joe💤in St. Louis, Missouri today:

“We can only re-elect @realDonaldTrump.”#KAG2020LandslideVictory🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/FT4q2MWfcD

— Dan Scavino (@DanScavino) March 8, 2020

Believed to be the first time the site has used the tag, its implementation, based on a policy that went into effect on March 5th, has not been without setbacks. Some report that a glitch has allowed the video to be visible without the tags. Speaking with The Verge, Twitter spokesperson Catherine Hill said that the tag was "not showing in the tweet detail," so those who click on the video may not see it. According to The Verge, Twitter is working on the glitch.

However, Scavino insists that the video is not manipulated. His supporters and supporters of Trump have begun criticizing the use of the label and how the media is reporting the label. They believe that while the video is edited, it is not manipulated.

The video was NOT manipulated. https://t.co/p9QrNPYOvf

— Dan Scavino (@DanScavino) March 9, 2020

For the First time, Twitter has applied the “Manipulated Media” label to a Video.

The Video was clipped, not edited, in a Tweet from @DanScavino that was Retweeted by President Trump.

This video was simply shortened.

This means every single clip on Twitter is “Manipulated”. https://t.co/mi8GI9ktAs

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 8, 2020

Facebook took a hands-off approach to the video, which is in keeping with some of their other policies regarding political advertising on the platform, relying upon their outside fact-checkers to moderate. A spokesperson for Facebook told the Washington Post:

Fact-checkers rated this video as partly false, so we are reducing its distribution and showing warning labels with more context for people who see it, try to share it, or already have. As we announced last year, the same applies if a politician shares the video, if it was otherwise fact-checked when shared by others on Facebook.

The Biden denounced the video and Facebook's handling of the situation. In a statement, Greg Schultz, Biden's campaign manager said:

We live in an era of increasingly rampant disinformation, and there are only two ways to address this toxic force that is corroding our democracy: responsibly and in a way that serves the public, or irresponsibly and in a nakedly self-serving manner. Facebook’s malfeasance when it comes to trafficking in blatantly false misinformation is a national crisis in this respect. It is also an unconscionable act of putting profit above not just our country, but every country. Facebook won’t say it, but it is apparent to all who have examined their conduct and policies: they care first and foremost about money and, to that end, are willing to serve as one of the world’s most effective mediums for the spread of vile lies. That is repugnant, and it should be called out for what it is. Their unethical behavior is not acceptable, and it must change.

While the version shared by Trump and Scavino are the most widely circulated, others have begun spreading the edited version of the video without receiving a manipulated media tag. A tweet by @johncardillo has gone on to receive more than 1.6 million views. Another from the @thebradfordfile has received more than 867,000 views. As of now, the tweet remains on both Trump's, Scavino's and others' Twitter feeds without a tag.

“Because we cannot get reelected…we cannot win this reelection…excuse me…we can only re-elect Donald Trump”

Tragic at this point. Keeping him in the race in light of his clear neurological issues is abusive. pic.twitter.com/lqZEAMhM30

— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) March 8, 2020

How is this real? pic.twitter.com/qt8hiDrfbm

— thebradfordfile™ (@thebradfordfile) March 7, 2020