George Floyd protest: why have Twitter and Facebook removed Trump's Heal, not Hatred video?
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram took down a video tribute to George Floyd posted by the US president's media team for infringing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
A video posted on social media by Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign team as a tribute to George Floyd was taken down on Thursday by moderators. It had barely been up for a day.
Trump video: Healing, not Hatred
Trump's media team put together a short 3 minute video clip entitled ‘Healing not Hatred’ which included images of stills of George Floyd along with video footage of the public taking part in protest marches and subsequent rioting and looting in the days after Floyd's death, overlaid with an emotional voice-over from Trump.
The video received a whole host of complaints, including ones which according to a Twitter spokesman breached copyright rules – that some of the images and video footage may have come from syndicated news agencies and was used without permission, prior subscription or Fair Use, as it is referred to in the United States.
Copyrighted material on social media
In their rules and policies, Twitter explain “Whether or not a certain use of copyrighted material constitutes a fair use is ultimately determined by a court of law. Courts analyse fair use arguments by looking at:
- The purpose and character of the use.
- The nature of the copied work
- The amount and substantiality of the copied work
- The effect on the copied work’s value
The Trump team video was disabled “in response to a claim by the copyright owner” but still can be watched on Youtube.
"Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives," Twitter said in a statement. It did not reveal the source of the the complaint or when it was submitted.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, said it took down the video after receiving the creator's complaint under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.