Trump signs executive order seeking regulations on social media


President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday challenging how social media companies oversee posts and content on their site — though experts doubt the order has much power.
"We're here today to defend free speech from one of the greatest dangers," Trump said before signing the order, which directs government agencies in charge of communications to see if they can further regulate social media companies. But experts tell The Associated Press that Trump's attempt to curtail "censorship" will probably end up forcing social media platforms to further crack down on controversial posts, seeing as Trump has taken aim at a provision that excepts those platforms from being prosecuted for user-generated content.
The move comes just days after Twitter labeled two of Trump's tweets on mail-in ballots as misleading, with links to a fact-check page on the matter. Trump claimed Twitter has "unchecked power" in the public sphere and has become biased, suggesting without evidence that social media tries to "edit" and "silence" conservatives.
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"If it were legal, if [Twitter] could be legally shut down, I would do it," Trump said. Trump added that he remains on the site because it lets him counter news he thinks is "fake." Kathryn Krawczyk
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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