Twitter users falsely tweet that Donald Trump is dead to test Musk-era content moderation

Tweets falsely suggesting that Donald Trump has died are testing the content moderation of Elon Musk’s Twitter.

Huge number of users started posting tweets that suggested the former president had died in a protest against the new administration of Twitter.

As soon as Elon Musk announced he intended to buy the social network, questions arose of what kinds of content he would allow to be posted. He repeatedly indicated that he would be more permissive about the what could be said on the social network, describing himself as a free speech champion.

In response, some users have decided to test the moderation on the social network by posting false stories about Donald Trump, and see whether they would be taken down. They were led by Tim Heidecker, a comedian who encouraged others to share the false posts.

He then encouraged users to share the hashtag #TrumpIsDead. That call worked, with the phrase trending on the platform.

The satirical posts echoed a concern shared by a number of experts that the new managers of Twitter could allow problematic posts to flourish across the site.

The status of Mr Trump’s account has also been subject to intense speculation, with some suggesting that Mr Musk could allow him back onto the site. He was banned in January 2021, in the wake of the attack on the US Capitol.

Mr Musk has said that no permanently banned accounts will be allowed back onto the platform for “at least a few more weeks” as the company builds the new content moderation council he has pledged to create.

The social media giant’s new owner had raised concerns before buying the firm by suggesting he planned to overturn the bans given to controversial figures, such as Mr Trump, who was banned from the platform in 2021 after the company said he had repeatedly breached its rules around inciting violence with tweets about the January 6 riots at the US Capitol.

In the months before completing his takeover of Twitter, Mr Musk had said he believed the banning of the former president was a mistake and that he would reverse it.

But his well-known stance on allowing “absolute free speech” appears to have softened slightly in the face of advertisers potentially fleeing the platform in response to such polarising figures - many of which were removed for inciting hate or violence - returning.

Posting to Twitter after he said he had met the civil society groups, the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX owner said Twitter “will not allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so”, adding that this would take “at least a few more weeks”.

“Twitter’s content moderation council will include representatives with widely divergent views, which will certainly include the civil rights community and groups who face hate-fueled violence,” he said.

Additional reporting by PA