Twitter defends decision not to remove Trump tweet threatening North Korea

Twitter is defending its decision not to suspend President Donald Trump over a tweet about North Korea that seems to violate its prohibition on threats of violence.

"Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N.," President Trump tweeted. "If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!" Twitter did not remove the tweet. North Korea interpreted the tweet as a "clear declaration of war." Responding to questions from users on why it had not removed the tweet and suspended the president's account, Twitter said "'newsworthiness' and whether a tweet is of public interest" plays a role in its decision making. Twitter said this is an internal policy.

Its public terms of service state: "You may not make threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism." Twitter acknowledged it needs to do a better job of making its rules transparent to the public. "We'll soon update our public-facing rules to reflect it," Twitter said.