Donald Trump ordering Twitter followers to commit murder may not be grounds for ban, Jack Dorsey says

Trump's inciteful tweets have previously provoked calls for a ban for violating Twitter's rules

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at an event on 15 October, 2018 in San Francisco, California. US President Donald Trump is one of the most prolific users of his platform (Getty Images for WIRED25)

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey would not necessarily ban Donald Trump from the platform even if the US President publicly called for his followers to murder journalists.

In an interview with Huffington Post, Mr Dorsey responded to a hypothetical question about whether Trump would be removed from Twitter if he asked each of his followers to murder one journalist.

He said: "That would be a violent threat. We'd definitely... You know we're in constant communication with all governments around the world. So we'd certainly talk about it."

When pressed by the journalist on whether or not Trump would be subject to a ban if he made such a tweet, Mr Dorsey still failed to commit to such a ban.

"I'm not going to talk about particulars," Mr Dorsey said. "We've established protocol, it's transparent. It's out there for everyone to read. We have, independent of the US president, we have conversations with all governments. It's not just limited to this one."

The Twitter boss has received several high-profile calls to deactivate Trump's account in the past, with US Congressman Keith Ellison calling the president a "social media bully" when calling for a ban in 2017.

Trump has previously made calls for violence, most notably during his 2016 election campaign when interrupted by various protestors.

"I'd like to punch him in the face," Trump said at the 23 February rally.

In the same month, at ann event in Iowa, he told the crowd: "If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, ok. Just know the hell – I promise you I will pay for the legal fees, I promise."

The US President has even used Twitter to promote violence, retweeting a video that depicted him attacking a person with a CNN logo superimposed over their head.

The interview with Mr Dorsey questioned Twitter's previous decisions to not remove Trump's inciteful tweets.

After Trump posted a threat to war with North Korea in 2017, there was a widespread call for the tweet to be deleted and Trump to be removed.

Twitter responded in a series of posts that clarified its position when it came to Trump's tweets.

"We hold all accounts to the same Rules, and consider a number of factors when assessing whether Tweets violate our Rules, Twitter's Public Policy account tweeted.

"Among the considerations is "newsworthiness" and whether a Tweet is of public interest... Twitter is committed to transparency and keeping people informed about what's happening in the world. We’ll continue to be guided by these fundamental principles."