US President Donald Trump speaks about negotiations with pharmaceutical companies at an event in the Rose Garden at the White House. Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks about negotiations with pharmaceutical companies at an event in the Rose Garden at the White House. Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks about negotiations with pharmaceutical companies at an event in the Rose Garden at the White House. Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks about negotiations with pharmaceutical companies at an event in the Rose Garden at the White House. Reuters

Trump threatens to "strongly regulate" Twitter after being fact-checked


Joyce Karam
  • English
  • Arabic

US President Donald Trump is threatening to regulate social media platforms such as Twitter after the site added a "fact check" label to his tweets about widespread voter fraud when using mail-in-ballots.

"Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices," Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday, the second day in a row in which he lashing out at Twitter. Without elaborating, the US President threatened social media censorship and even shutting down such outlets.

"We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen," he went on saying, accusing them of attempting and failing to manipulate the 2016 election.

But it was unclear what action Mr Trump could take as freedom of expression is protected under US constitution and the First Amendment. His rhetoric is seen as a rallying cry for his conservative base that has long criticized Twitter and Facebook and accused them of a left-wing bias.

This illustration photo shows an editor in Los Angeles looking at the official Twitter account of US President Donald Trump on May 26, 2020, with two tweets by the president under which Twitter posted a link reading "Get the facts about mail-in ballots". AFP
This illustration photo shows an editor in Los Angeles looking at the official Twitter account of US President Donald Trump on May 26, 2020, with two tweets by the president under which Twitter posted a link reading "Get the facts about mail-in ballots". AFP

Mr Trump could establish a commission to review the alleged bias. His claim is in response to Twitter labelling two of his tweets on Tuesday that falsely indicate that mail-in ballots are fraudulent.

Under the tweets, Twitter posted a link which read "Get the facts about mail-in ballots" and which took users to a notice calling the claims "unsubstantiated", citing reporting by CNN, the Washington Post and other media.

"Trump falsely claimed that mail-in ballots would lead to 'Rigged Election'," the notice contended. "However, fact-checkers say there is no evidence that mail-in ballots are linked to voter fraud."

In a statement, Twitter said the content contains misleading information. "They contain potentially misleading information about voting processes and have been labelled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots," Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said.

The president has long used Twitter as a platform to spread his message but critics say he peddles abuse, conspiracy theories, false information and insults to his 80 million followers.

The move to label his tweets, however, marks the first time in its 14-year history that Twitter directly fact-checks a world leader.

Mr Trump also peddled a conspiracy theory on Tuesday, against a former Republican Congressman and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, by spreading the rumour he murdered an aide, Lori Klausutis, despite no evidence of a crime.

An autopsy found that the aide died of a heart condition. Calls mounted to twitter – including from the aide's widower – to delete Mr Trump's tweets.

Klausutis' widower, Timothy Klausutis, wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, pleading with him to delete Trump's "vicious lie."

"I'm asking you to intervene in this instance because the President of the United States has taken something that does not belong to him – the memory of my dead wife – and perverted it for perceived political gain," he wrote in a letter published by The New York Times. Twitter has refrained from doing so.

Mr Trump's approach is being criticised by both Democrats and Republicans. Republican Senator Mitt Romney tweeted on Wednesday slamming Mr Trump's accusations. "I know Joe Scarborough. Joe is a friend of mine. I don't know T.J. Klausutis. Joe can weather vile, baseless accusations but T.J.? His heart is breaking. Enough already," he said.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

Company profile

Date started: December 24, 2018

Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer

Based: Dubai Media City

Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)

Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech

Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year

Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020

How to help

Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:

2289 - Dh10

2252 - Dh50

6025 - Dh20

6027 - Dh100

6026 - Dh200

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

if you go

The flights

Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return. 

The trek

Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required. 

Bio

Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro

Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

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The Bio

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity

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Don't get fined

The UAE FTA requires following to be kept:

  • Records of all supplies and imports of goods and services
  • All tax invoices and tax credit notes
  • Alternative documents related to receiving goods or services
  • All tax invoices and tax credit notes
  • Alternative documents issued
  • Records of goods and services that have been disposed of or used for matters not related to business
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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.