Biden campaign now asking Twitter to reject false Trump campaign ad
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is now asking Twitter to reject a video ad from President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign that falsely accuses the former vice president of corruption for his role in Ukraine policy during the Obama administration.
In the letter, first obtained by CNN, the Biden campaign asks Twitter to reject the ad should the campaign place it again. While the letter, written by Biden campaign manager Greg Schultz, acknowledges that the social media company has said the ad complies with its policies, he asks that Twitter “promptly reassess” that position.
Specifically, the letter calls on Twitter to make a distinction between the personal account of a politician and paid advertising content — “just as Twitter does in every other context,” per the letter.
Twitter has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.
The move from Biden’s team appears to be part of a broad campaign to respond to Trump’s attacks on social media. The campaign wrote a letter to Facebook asking the social media company to remove the Trump campaign ad, a request that Facebook rejected on Tuesday night.
The former vice president has also recently stepped up his rhetoric against the President in speeches across the country including on Wednesday, when Biden called for Trump’s impeachment for the first time.
“To preserve our Constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity, he should be impeached,” Biden said in Rochester, New Hampshire, during a campaign event.
The video in question accuses Biden of using his power as vice president to influence Ukraine in order to benefit his son, Hunter. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe or Hunter Biden in Ukraine. CNN has refused to air the ad because it “makes assertions that have been proven demonstrably false by various news outlets.”
As they wrote in the letter to Facebook, the Biden team puts Twitter “on notice” about what they call the “absolute falsity of these claims.”
According to Twitter’s policy for of advertisements, under the “quality” stipulation, they “cannot mislead users into opening content by including exaggerated or sensationalized language or misleading calls to action.”
When asked about other websites airing these ads, including Google and YouTube, the Biden campaign did not rule out sending similar letters.
