Why is the US president aiming his anger at social media?

Donald Trump is often called the Tweeter-in-Chief.

Twitter is the United States president’s main social media platform. It is where he announces policies to more than 80 million followers, and where he has attacked opponents and spread misinformation.

But Twitter is now in the president’s firing line.

The platform placed a fact-check warning on two of Trump’s tweets that falsely claimed postal ballots would lead to voter fraud.

The president accused the platform – in a tweet – of stifling free speech and silencing conservative voices.

But Twitter has been criticised for refusing to act on other Trump posts, such as those repeating a debunked claim that a TV host and former congressman was involved in the death of an intern.

With the US election just six months away, can social media companies balance freedom of speech while rooting out misinformation?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Adolfo Franco – Republican strategist and former adviser to US Senator John McCain

Derrick Plummer – Democratic strategist and former regional press secretary for the Democratic National Committee

Jim Anderson – chief executive of Social Flow, technology firm dealing with social media content for companies