Trump’s Twitter Setting a Dangerous Precedent

Jake Neuffer, Editor-in-Chief|January 30, 2017

President Donald Trump’s Twitter activity has created international outrage, scorn, and anger. His use of Twitter as a tool of diplomacy has been noted by many as unprecedented for someone in the office of President.

 

 

 

 

 

 

His recent row with the Twitter accounts of US national parks is the most recent event in the Trump twitter phenomenon. But as funny as this entire Twitter situation is, it’s creating a dangerous precedent with how our executive branch communicates with the people’s.

When confronted with the fact that they provided fake numbers for the number of attendees for the Trump inauguration, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway used the phrase “alternative facts”. This quote instantly became viral and stirred outrage on the internet. Not only is it an obvious deflection, but it also has a much more dangerous and subtle effect. It undermines the credibility of the media.

The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened and discredited news outlets for providing “fake facts”. Not only that, but he’s constructed a feud with the CIA for suggesting that Russia may have been involved in his winning of the election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if you’re a die hard Trump supporter, what are you supposed to do? Your candidate has just alienated himself from the media and insulted the intelligence community. Where are you supposed to get your information from now?

And this is the dangerous situation Trump has set up for America. Using Twitter, he is seeking to create a direct line of communication with the people. He’s trying to completely circumvent news outlets. It certain cases, this might be a good thing. Various media organizations have been known to put out actually untrue facts. But Trump’s administration has already proved that it can’t be trusted to deliver objectively true facts.