TWITTER ACCUSED OF DOUBLE STANDARDS OVER BAN ON TWEETS WISHING DEATH ON TRUMP. Twitter’s double standards are not news but anyway: Ava DuVernay among those highlighting platform’s lack of action over abusive tweets, “jokes” from the radical left “democrats” such as Clinton’s spokeswoman whom wished Trump to die.

Twitter is facing a growing backlash in the wake of Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis as users accuse it of double standards in the way it polices those who wish death on others. The filmmaker Ava DuVernay and the former children’s laureate Malorie Blackman were among thousands of Twitter users accusing the platform of failing to protect women and minority users from abuse.

Many people have tweeted messages to wish the president well, including his election opponent, Joe Biden, while others have expressed the opposite sentiment. On Friday Twitter confirmed that users who wish death upon the president were violating its terms of use. Its abusive behaviour policy prohibits users from “wishing or hoping serious harm on a person or group of people”.

“Tweets that wish or hope for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against *anyone* are not allowed and will need to be removed,” the company said in a tweet. It added that the breach would not “automatically mean suspension”.

The statement, which has been shared more than 18,000 times, has drawn criticism from many figures who said they themselves had been targeted with similar abuse but received no support from the platform.