Matt Gaetz files an FEC complaint against Twitter for 'domestic election interference'

Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Twitter after the social media giant issued a fact-check on one of President Trump's tweets about absentee ballots.

The Florida Republican said his motivation behind the complaint was his belief that Twitter wasn't fact-checking content in a neutral manner and is thereby "making an in-kind contribution to [Trump's] political opponents.”

"If we just wait around, Big Tech will steal this election from Donald Trump and from the American people," Gaetz told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday, where he announced his complaint.

Earlier this week, Twitter placed a fact-check alert on Trump's tweet linking voter fraud to mail-in voting. The tweet referred specifically to California's decision to send absentee ballots to all registered voters in the state in the wake of the coronavirus.

The alert led to news articles by sources Trump frequently accuses of giving negative coverage to him, such as CNN and the Washington Post.

On Thursday, after Trump tweeted a controversial tweet about sending in the National Guard to prevent looting in Minneapolis amid unrest after the death of George Floyd, Twitter slapped a separate warning on it for "glorifying violence."

Gaetz said he believes the fact-checking tool by tech giants are a form of domestic election interference with Trump's reelection coming up in six months.

“If someone is going to assert that they are a nonbiased, neutral platform, we should not just take that as an article of faith," Gaetz said. "The Federal Election Commission needs to get off their duff. Twitter is interfering with an election."