Twitter's Official Account Changes Color In Solidarity With Black Lives Matter Movement

Twitter Inc. TWTR changed its profile pictures to express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement as protests raged across the United States over the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died after a policeman restrained him with a knee on the neck.

What Happened

The microblogging website changed its profile photo and background image and added the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag to its profile description. 

The main Twitter account also retweeted a thread from Twitter Together, an account that promotes diversity, saying, “Racism does not adhere to social distancing.” It further stated, “Amid the already growing fear and uncertainty around the pandemic, this week has again brought attention to something perhaps more pervasive: the long-standing racism and injustices faced by Black and Brown people on a daily basis.”

Why It Matters

Currently, #Black_Lives_Matters is trending on twitter at the number 3 spot in the United States with nearly a million tweets containing the hashtag. 

Twitter and President Donald Trump are on a collision course after the leader tweeted about Floyd and the Minnesota riots. Trump threatened to send the National Guard and accused the protestors of being “THUGS” who were “dishonoring the memory of George Floyd," adding that he "won’t let that happen.” He raged, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
The social media company put a warning on the tweet saying it violated its rules about glorifying violence.

The president has been less than happy over being fact-checked and had previously warned that he would not allow the social media company to stifle free speech.

Trump then went on to sign an executive order that ends social media legal immunity for third-party content on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken a divergent view on content curation, saying, “private companies shouldn't be the arbiter of truth.”

Twitter Price Action

Twitter shares traded 0.32% higher at $31.07 in the after hours session on Friday. The shares had closed the regular session 1.96% lower at $30.97.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Twitter.