Twitter disables video in Trump tweet featuring fake CNN chyron

Twitter disabled the video on a tweet from President Trump that included a manipulated CNN chyron. 

“This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner,” reads a message now in place of the video.

Twitter had initially flagged the tweet as containing manipulated media before also disabling the video.

The original video included an edited CNN chyron reading “terrified todler[sic] runs from racist baby.”

pic.twitter.com/vnRpk0zl5y

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020

“Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement The Hill.

The initial video, which went viral before being included on the tweet, shows two children running towards each other and embracing. The tweet edited the video to include menacing background music and the manipulated CNN headline.

Twitter confirmed that it took action over the tweet after a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice from a rights holder.

In a statement directly addressing Trump, a CNN spokesperson noted that the network covered the footage of the two New York children when it first went viral in 2019 under the headline “These two toddlers are showing us what real-life besties look like.”

“CNN did cover this story — exactly as it happened. Just as we reported your positions on race [and poll numbers],” the network said in a statement. “We’ll continue working with facts rather than tweeting fake videos that exploit innocent children. We invite you to do the same. Be better.” 

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta sparred over the video during a press conference Friday, with McEnany saying that the president was “making a point” about the network, claiming it has “regularly taken him out of context.”

The tweet is the third from Trump that has been flagged by Twitter. The first tweet was appended with a correction over Trump’s claims on mail-in voting. The second, a tweet about unrest after the death of George Floyd that included the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” was flagged as promoting violence. 

Trump has pushed back on the actions from Twitter, saying it and other social media companies should lose their legal protections from lawsuits over what third-party users post on their platforms.