A German official invited Twitter to move to Europe as the social media company grapples with criticism over how it handles fact checks.
Thomas Jarzombek, the Economic Affairs Ministry’s commissioner for the digital industry and startups, tagged both Twitter and its CEO, Jack Dorsey, in a tweet that encouraged them to come to Germany.
“Hey @Twitter & @jack, this is an invitation to move to Germany! Here you are free to criticize the government as well as to fight fake news. We have a great startup and tech ecosystem, your company would be a perfect fit and I will open any doors for you!” Jarzombek wrote, also tagging President Trump.
Hey @Twitter & @jack, this is an invitation to move to Germany! Here you are free to criticize the government as well as to fight fake news. We have a great startup and tech ecosystem, your company would be a perfect fit and I will open any doors for you! @realDonaldTrump
— Thomas Jarzombek (@tj_tweets) May 28, 2020
Trump and Twitter are at odds over the social media giant’s fact-checking policies and terms of service. Twitter added a “get the facts” alert under two of Trump’s tweets about mail-in ballots Tuesday, after which the president responded by accusing the company of interfering in the presidential election.
The row escalated in the early hours of Friday morning when Trump tweeted about the rioting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, saying, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The tweet was given a warning label because it broke company rules about “glorifying violence.” The White House then tweeted out the same controversial text from its official account later on Friday and also got hit with a warning label.
Also Friday, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called for a criminal investigation into the company, claiming that it was violating U.S. sanctions by providing a platform to Iranian leaders who have been targeted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
