Twitter on Tuesday hid a tweet from US President Donald Trump in which he threatened to use "serious force" against protesters in the US capital, saying it broke rules over abusive content, AFP reports.
The platform has recently labeled other Trump tweets as misleading and violating its standards on promoting violence, this appeared to be the first time the Twitter flagged the President for an "abusive" tweet.
"There will never be an 'Autonomous Zone' in Washington, D.C., as long as I'm your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!" Trump tweeted.
The action by Twitter requires users to click through to read the Trump tweet, with a tag on the message that it "violated the Twitter rules about abusive behavior" but that it would remain accessible "in the public's interest."
Trump's tweet referred to the police-free district created by protesters in Seattle, in Washington state, two weeks ago, which has sparked outrage among conservatives.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order aimed at increasing the ability of the government to regulate social media platforms, after Twitter attached a warning to some of Trump’s tweets, prompting readers to fact-check the president’s claims.
Trump threatened to shut down social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook in response to Twitter’s move.
"Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. We saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016. We can’t let a more sophisticated version of that happen again. Just like we can’t let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!" Trump tweeted.
Twitter said in a statement to AFP it took the action Tuesday because the tweet violated its policy against abusive behavior with "a threat of harm against an identifiable group."
The new, aggressive stand by Twitter on rule-breaking by the president stands in contrast with Facebook, which has maintained a largely hands-off policy despite pressure from activists to curb inflammatory content.
Facebook did remove a Trump ad last week that targeted Antifa and which contained a symbol similar to one used in Nazi Germany for political prisoners.