U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to regulate or shutter Twitter Inc (TWTR) one day after the social media company for the first time added a ‘potentially misleading’ warning to some of his tweets.
Trump reiterated his accusations of political bias by such technology platforms, tweeting: “Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!”
The “potentially misleading” label was imposed on tweets Trump posted Tuesday morning claiming that “mail-in ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent” and would result in “a rigged election.”
According to a Twitter spokesperson, the tweets “contain potentially misleading information about voting processes and have been labeled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots.” When users see the tweets from Trump, a link from Twitter is attached to them that says “Get the facts about mail-in ballots.” This link leads to a collection of tweets and articles debunking the President’s statements.
A Twitter spokesperson said that the move is in line with a policy introduced this month that aims to limit “the spread of potentially harmful and misleading content” related to the pandemic.
Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik recently upgraded Twitter from Sell to Hold, with a $29 price target. Shmulik wrote that Twitter “sits at the fulcrum of news and conversation during this unprecedented global event,” but noted that nevertheless the stock currently is fairly valued.
That sentiment is in line with Street consensus, as the analyst rating consensus is Hold, with an average 12-month price target of $30.64. This represents 6% downside potential from Twitter’s current price. (See Twitter stock analysis on TipRanks)
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