Twitter Labels Trump Tweet About ‘Racist Baby’ as Manipulated Media

OAKLAND, Calif. — Twitter added a warning to a post from President Trump about a racist baby on Thursday, saying the tweet contained manipulated media designed to mislead people.

The move is likely to escalate tensions between Mr. Trump and Twitter, which the president uses multiple times a day to broadcast messages to his more than 82 million followers. While Twitter for years took a hands-off approach to Mr. Trump’s tweets, it took a more activist position last month by adding labels refuting the accuracy of some of the president’s messages and by cautioning that his posts glorified violence.

Mr. Trump had tweeted a video of two toddlers earlier on Thursday running down a sidewalk. The video had been altered to appear as if CNN had broadcast it. A fake chyron on the video claimed, “Racist baby probably a Trump voter,” and the video went on to accuse “fake news” of stoking misinformation.

Mr. Trump sourced the video from a popular pro-Trump meme creator who goes by “CarpeDonktum.” Mr. Trump has posted other videos from CarpeDonktum in the past.

Twitter added the label later on Thursday, saying that the tweet contained manipulated media. Its policies prohibit sharing videos, photos or audio that “have been deceptively altered or fabricated” to trick viewers and have the potential to cause harm. It was the first time Twitter used that particular label on one of Mr. Trump’s posts.

Mr. Trump has previously struck back at Twitter for labeling his tweets, signing an executive order last month designed to chip away at legal protections for Twitter and other internet companies for what its users post.

Twitter first enforced its policy against manipulated media in March, focusing on a tweet from the White House social media director, Dan Scavino, who had posted a video of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. that had been edited to make it appear as though Mr. Biden had endorsed Mr. Trump.

Earlier on Thursday, Facebook removed ads posted on its platform by the Trump campaign that prominently featured a symbol used by Nazis to classify political prisoners during World War II. Facebook said the imagery violated company policy.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.