After Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott gave a speech in response to President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night, “Uncle Tim” trended on Twitter — despite the trend appearing to violate the platform’s policies.
According to Twitter’s policy on trends, a topic may be prevented from trending if it violates the Twitter rules. One of those rules includes the “hateful conduct policy.”
“You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease,” the hateful conduct policy reads. “You also may not use your username, display name, or profile bio to engage in abusive behavior, such as targeted harassment or expressing hate towards a person, group, or protected category.” (RELATED: Sports Journalists Loses Job After Calling Tim Scott ‘Uncle Tom’)
“Uncle Tim” is a reference to “Uncle Tom,” which is a derogatory and offensive term used to refer to black people who are seen as subservient to white people. The term is widely considered to be racist.
A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement Thursday morning that they were blocking the trend.
“I can confirm that we are blocking the phase you referenced from appearing in Trends,” the spokesperson said. “This is in line with our policies on Trends, specifically: ‘We want Trends to promote healthy conversations on Twitter. This means that at times, we may not allow or may temporarily prevent content from appearing in Trends until more context is available. This includes Trends that violate The Twitter Rules.'”
Despite being racist and offensive, “Uncle Tim” was allowed to trend on Twitter after the senator’s speech.
Would love to understand why @Twitter will ban all kinds of offensive language aimed in one direction but when it’s aimed in the other, such as at a Republican like @TimScottSC, it’s trending pic.twitter.com/BF4Omf9k3m
— Sarah Westwood (@sarahcwestwood) April 29, 2021
Scott responded when he was asked Thursday morning on Fox and Friends how it made him feel to see the topic trending on Twitter.
The senator called it “upsetting” and “so disappointing” that the same people who ask to be respected don’t want the same for him.
“What they want for us is for us to stay in a little small corner and not go against the tide they think is America,” Scott said. “Their America and my America aren’t the same America if, in fact, they think that discriminating is the fastest way to end discrimination.”
Scott said that while racism and discrimination are real problems, they are becoming less of a problem and Americans should celebrate that. Progress is made when people of all races come together and work for change, he said.
“If you want to be an American, the door’s wide open – the front door, by the way – is wide open to come in and add value to who we are, to not be part of destructive conversations that belittle individuals,” the senator continued. “I will agree with the vice president on one thing. The internal struggle we see in our nation oftentimes led by the left is a problem, a problem we can solve together. The American family is bigger than that, we should act like it.”