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Monday 27 May 2019 - 12:04

GOP Rep. Hurd criticizes Trump for tweeting edited Pelosi video

Story Code : 796520
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (AFP photo)
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (AFP photo)

This comes after a video, which was slowed down to show Pelosi is slurring her words, went viral on conservative social media outlets last week.

Shortly after, Trump tweeted a different video of Pelosi that spliced together several verbal pauses. The video was initially aired on Fox News’ “Lou Dobbs Tonight.”

Speaking on “Face the Nation” Sunday, Hurd said, “You shouldn't disseminate information that you know is ultimately doctored.”

“This is going to escalate this debate and this fight,” he added.

He went on to say that the controversy over the first video is illustrative of a lack of preparedness in responding to misinformation.

“We have old laws to decide how you handle disinformation. You have leaders that don't understand how this technology can be used in the future. This goes back into this whole conversation around disinformation and how are we dealing with it.”

“And it's not just the government alone. It's not just the social media companies. It's also the media, academia involved in trying to do this.”

Facebook, which has continued to keep the video on its platform, said Friday false information alone does not violate the site's rules.

"We remove things from Facebook that violate our Community Standards, and we don't have a policy that stipulates that the information you post on Facebook must be true," a company spokesperson said in a statement shared with POLITICO.

The decision by the company was heavily criticized by some of Pelosi's Democratic colleagues.
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