Headline RoundupMay 26th, 2020

Trump's Push of MSNBC Host Conspiracy Theory Met by Calls for Censorship

Technology, Censorship, Conspiracy Theories, Donald Trump, Joe Scarborough, MSNBC, Twitter, Social Media, Politics, Polarization, Free Speech

Summary from the AllSides News Team

President Donald Trump's tweets promoting a conspiracy theory about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough have prompted calls for Twitter to step in and potentially censor his account. As part of an ongoing feud with Scarborough, Trump has suggested an unproven theory that the "Morning Joe" host was involved in the 2001 death of 28-year-old intern Lori Klausutis, who worked for Scarborough when he was a Florida congressman. Klausutis's widower and Scarborough's co-host and wife Mika Brezenski have asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to delete the tweets, citing the pain of the memory and accusing the president of exploiting the death for political gain. Some left-rated voices backed the calls for censoring Trump's tweets. Twitter reportedly has no plans to remove the tweets, but is "working to expand existing product features and policies so we can more effectively address things like this going forward," according to a spokesperson.

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From the Left

Twitter Must Cleanse the Trump Stain

New York Times (Opinion)

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New York Times (Opinion)

Opinion

“Please delete those tweets,” the widower begged in a letter last week to Twitter’s chief executive, Jack Dorsey. “My wife deserves better.”

Yes, Twitter, Lori Klausutis certainly does deserve better, nearly two decades after she died in a tragic accident that has morphed into a macabre and continuing nightmare for her husband, Timothy Klausutis.

The boogeyman plunging him and the family of his late wife into the very worst of memory holes is a conspiracy-theory-loving, twitchy-fingered and often shameless tweeter who also happens to be the president of the United...

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From the Left

Husband of deceased Scarborough staffer asks Twitter to delete baseless Trump claims

Axios

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Axios

News

The husband of Lori Klausutis, an aide to Joe Scarborough when he was a member of Congress who died in 2001, asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to take down President Trump's tweets baselessly accusing the MSNBC host of murdering her, according to a letter obtained by the New York Times' Kara Swisher.

The state of play: Timothy Klausutis asked Dorsey to delete the tweets because Trump "has taken something that does not belong him — the memory of my dead wife and perverted it for perceived political gain."

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From the Right

‘Unspeakably Cruel’: ‘Morning Joe’ Co-Hosts Call Out Trump For Continuing To Tweet Conspiracy About Scarborough’s Dead Intern

The Daily Caller

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The Daily Caller

News

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-hosts addressed President Donald Trump’s tweets about Joe Scarborough’s dead intern Tuesday morning, calling it “unspeakably cruel.”

Scarborough and his co-hosts pointed to a New York Times op-ed written by contributing opinion writer Kara Swisher. In the Tuesday op-ed, Swisher called for Twitter to remove Trump’s tweets about Lori Klausutis – who was found dead at her desk while working as an intern for Scarborough’s congressional office in 2001. It was determined that Klausutis died of natural causes.

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