On the morning of Wednesday, November 29, President Trump retweeted several unsubstantiated videos to his Twitter account, drawing controversy from around the globe. The three videos possess extreme themes of violence committed by Muslim people and were quick to catch the public’s eye, as they seem to promote aggression or hate with no evidence behind them whatsoever.
The videos are titled “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!,” “Muslim destroys a statue of Virgin Mary!” and “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” The content is originally from a British group that calls themselves Britain First, which, according to The Washington Post, “bills itself as a political party but has been widely condemned as an extremist group that targets mosques and Muslims,” which many people have been quick to point out.
For instance, James Slack, Theresa May’s spokesperson, condemned Trump for retweeting things that “divide communities” and spread “hateful narratives.” As a result, Trump combatted the British prime minister’s remarks by stating that Britain should instead be paying attention to “Radical Islamic Terrorism.”
This latest political controversy and widespread condemnation is very important, as it means that the president is not only spreading unsubstantiated information from very widely publicized platforms but also that messages of hate and extremism are being heavily broadcast across the world. The events have also caused tensions to rise between the United States and other nations and have raised questions about the validity of Trump using Twitter as his primary means of communication.
