Twitter Blocked From Trump Tech Meeting Over A #CrookedHIllary Emoji

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens to his mobile phone during a lunch stop in North Charleston, S.C. Trump’s approach to Twitter has been as unorthodox as his presidential campaign.The billionaire’s use of the social media service has been unpredictable and unfiltered, sometimes brilliant and occasionally typographically challenged. He has celebrated the support of scores of accounts that appear almost solely dedicated to him. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens to his mobile phone during a lunch stop in North Charleston, S.C. Trump’s approach to Twitter has been as unorthodox a... FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens to his mobile phone during a lunch stop in North Charleston, S.C. Trump’s approach to Twitter has been as unorthodox as his presidential campaign. The billionaire’s use of the social media service has been unpredictable and unfiltered, sometimes brilliant and occasionally typographically challenged. He has celebrated the support of scores of accounts that appear almost solely dedicated to him. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) MORE LESS
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Twitter was reportedly barred from a meeting between President-elect Donald Trump and major tech companies Wednesday because during the campaign Twitter refused to allow a #CrookedHillary emoji to be circulated on Twitter.

According to a report from Politico, top tech executives including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook’s Sheryl Sanberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos were all invited to the meeting in Trump tower, but Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was not.

The source who spoke with Politico on background, said that Dorsey was not invited because of a brush up over the #CrookedHillary emoji. As Politico pointed out, the incident was chronicled on Medium last month where Gary Coby, Trump’s director of digital advertising and fundraising, alleged that Twitter violated an “upfront deal” that included custom emojis. The idea was that every time someone tweeted with the hashtag #crookedhillary, an emoji would pop up.


Images from the Medium post written by Gary Coby.

“Twitter — or well, Dorsey — restricted us on the most unique part of our deal, the custom hashtag emojis, of which we had two,” Coby wrote on Medium.

Politico reported that Sean Spicer, who is playing a key role in Trump’s transition team, was the one who had to call Twitter to tell them they were not welcome to attend the meeting.

Politico also noted that Twitter has been the only big tech company to say on the record that it would refuse to participate in building a “Muslim registry,” something that Trump’s campaign had discussed.

“This isn’t about who supported him and didn’t,” Sean Spicer told MSNBC during an interview on the issue Wednesday. “You guy’s focus is on who wasn’t there. That is petty and ridiculous.”

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