US President Donald Trump has accused social media platforms of being anti-Republican.
Camera IconUS President Donald Trump has accused social media platforms of being anti-Republican. Credit: Getty Images

Donald Trump agrees to shut down foundation, accuses Facebook, Twitter, Google of bias

AFPNews Corp Australia Network

US President Donald Trump has agreed to shut down his personal charity, the Trump Foundation, the New York Attorney-General said, accusing it of engaging in a “shocking pattern of illegality” to advance his political and business interests.

State Attorney-General Barbara Underwood said the family foundation would be dissolved and its remaining assets distributed to other charities under her supervision.

Ms Underwood accused the Foundation of a “shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation — including unlawful co-ordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and wilful self-dealing, and much more.”

“This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a cheque book to serve Mr Trump’s business and political interests,” she said in a statement.

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It hasn’t been a great week for Donald Trump.
Camera IconIt hasn’t been a great week for Donald Trump. Credit: AP

“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone,” Ms Underwood added.

The state Attorney-General filed a lawsuit against the Trump Foundation in June, accusing it of “persistently illegal conduct.”

The lawsuit, which will move ahead despite the agreement dissolving the charity, seeks millions of dollars in restitution and penalties.

It also seeks to bar Mr Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr and daughter Ivanka from serving on the boards of other New York charities.

The lawsuit seeks to bar Donald Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr and daughter Ivanka from serving on the boards of other New York charities.
Camera IconThe lawsuit seeks to bar Donald Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr and daughter Ivanka from serving on the boards of other New York charities. Credit: AFP

It comes as Mr Trump accused tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google of being biased in favour of opposition party the Democrats, a day after a report for the Senate revealed Russian agents had used social media in an attempt to sway the 2016 election in Mr Trump’s favour.

Mr Trump tweeted that Facebook, Twitter and Google are “so biased toward the Dems it is ridiculous!”

He accused Twitter of deliberately dissuading users from following his account.

However, an analysis for the Senate Intelligence Committee released on Monday described an organised campaign by the St Petersburg-based internet Research Agency (IRA) to hurt Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, by inflaming right-wing conspiracy theories and suppressing the vote of traditionally liberal groups such as African-Americans.

The IRA-created account “Blacktivist” sent out messages such as: “No lives matter to Hillary Clinton. Only votes matter to Hillary Clinton.”

A study showed that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was under attack via social media platforms.
Camera IconA study showed that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was under attack via social media platforms. Credit: AFP

Separately, a portion of the 3841 IRA accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube studied by the researchers sought to provoke Republican-leaning white Americans to get out and vote.

And after Mr Trump took office, Moscow’s operatives took aim at Special Counsel Robert Mueller, head of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between Mr Trump’s campaign and Moscow, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, special counsel on the Russian investigation, was also attacked by operatives via social media.
Camera IconFormer FBI Director Robert Mueller, special counsel on the Russian investigation, was also attacked by operatives via social media. Credit: AFP

Mr Trump is a regular critic of social media and accused Twitter as recently as October of stifling the growth of his account by making it harder for users to follow him.

Marketing software firm SparkToro revealed in October that its analysis of his 55 million-plus followers had revealed that more than 60 per cent were fake.

Around three-quarters of accounts that followed Mr Trump had been inactive for at least 120 days while 36 per cent used Twitter’s default profile image.