Twitter and Facebook remove a video tribute to George Floyd posted by Trump's campaign, after receiving a copyright complaint under DMCA
Twitter on Thursday removed a video tribute to George Floyd posted by President Trump's reelection campaign, claiming it had run afoul of the website's policy on copyrighted material.
The HillJonathan Easley
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second time in weeks that a rights-holder complaint, not a speech-policy ruling, has forced Twitter's hand against Trump's account — a month later the NYT used a DMCA complaint to get a photo pulled from his feed. The George Floyd tribute was taken down under the same procedural lever, and this time Facebook removed it too.
The significance is that both platforms reached for copyright law rather than their misinformation or incitement rules — a lower-friction path that avoids a public fight over political censorship while achieving the same result.
First-order effects
Trump's reelection campaign loses its most widely distributed tribute video overnight on the two largest social platforms, with no appeal route short of disputing the copyright claim itself.
Second-order effects
Rights-holders now have a demonstrated playbook: the NYT's photo takedown and this one show any owner of imagery touching a political figure can force removal without the platform making an editorial judgment.
Third-order effects
If platforms keep moderating powerful accounts through procedural mechanisms — copyright here, COVID and election rules later per the related coverage — political content governance shifts from visible speech rulings to quiet compliance actions, reshaping what accountability looks like for both campaigns and platforms.
The trend: Platform moderation of political figures is migrating toward procedural levers like DMCA takedowns, letting companies act without owning the editorial decision.
Facebook and Twitter took down a Trump campaign video over copyright concerns
@teamtrump
@teamtrump on x
We are working toward a more just society, but that means building up, not tearing down. Joining hands, not hurling fists. Standing in solidarity, not surrendering to hostility. https://twitter.com/...
@realdonaldtrump
Donald J. Trump on x
Twitter Pulls Trump Campaign Video of President Showing Empathy For Peaceful Protesters https://davidharrisjr.com/... They are fighting hard for the Radical Left Democrats. A one sided battle. Illegal. Section 230!
@jack
@jack on x
Not true and not illegal. This was pulled because we got a DMCA complaint from copyright holder. https://twitter.com/...
@lily_marston
Lily Marston on x
To back up his claim of being censored by twitter (who removed a campaign video for copyright) he links an article that argues, “I don't believe there was a copyright complaint filed, because the video is full of love and hope, and it was a great message to the American people.” …
@fionarobyn
Fiona Ingram on x
Are we all so blind, deaf, dumb + stupid that we allow mainstream social media giants to censor people they do not like? Are we being fed curated facts + not the truth? Orwell's 1984 comes to fruition. Who is Big Brother? Twitter, Facebook and MSM. https://www.theguardian.com/ ..…
@scottnover
Scott Nover on x
Update: @Facebook has also taken down the Trump video for copyright violation, joining @Twitter. The video still appears on @YouTube. https://www.adweek.com/...
@subrat_patnaik
Subrat Patnaik on x
The nearly 4-minute video was also uploaded on Trump's YouTube channel and his campaign's Facebook page. The clip has more than 1.4 million views on YouTube and Facebook combined. Facebook said it has not received any copyright complaints related to the video.
@getongab
@getongab on x
Jack is right here. Gab deals with DMCA trolls too. If anything needs to be reformed, it's the DMCA. Not Section 230 like the President has been focusing on. Revoking Section 230 would destroy the internet as we know it. https://twitter.com/...
@donie
Donie O'Sullivan on x
tfw you're under curfew in NYC on a Friday night and probably going to have to explain the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to someone https://twitter.com/...
@nastyoldwomyn
CCJ on x
What kind of Presidential campaign doesn't have a competent intellectual property attorney revue a video ad for legal compliance BEFORE posting it? https://twitter.com/...
@levie
Aaron Levie on x
LAW & ORDER! https://twitter.com/...
@b_fung
Brian Fung on x
Facebook's statement: https://twitter.com/...
@b_fung
Brian Fung on x
Facebook spokesman @andymstone tells me that, as on Twitter, this video from the Trump campaign has been removed over a copyright claim. https://twitter.com/...
@gordy_shanks
Shazz on x
Twitter bans Trump tribute to George Floyd. This is not the first time Trump has been accused of copyright infringement. Lets be clear, it wasn't a tribute, it was a political stunt, making out the left are violent. #TrumpIsANationalDisgrace https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@dangillmor
Dan Gillmor on x
Dear @guardian, this story is missing an essential element — who filed the copyright takedown notice. https://twitter.com/...
@lolgop
@lolgop on x
He isn't worth $80 billion but Judd is much better at running Facebook than Mark Zuckerberg. https://twitter.com/...