CBS has been forced to delete a tweet featuring a list including the words "Assassinate – President – Trump" from a recent episode of one of its shows.
The tweet, containing the photo and the awkward phrase "Hmmm…some of those target words look a little familiar. Did you catch any easter eggs in this scene from The One Where Diane Joins The Resistance?", riled up Trump fans on Twitter over its 'inciteful' language. In addition to the Trump assassination message, the list also featured the words "Eliminate – Mar-a-Lago" side by side in the second column, in reference to the president's Florida home.
Many urged the Secret Service, the FBI or the Federal Communications Commission to "please investigate this assassination threat against President Trump", with users suggesting that this was a "despicable" attempt to "run subliminal messages" to encourage the president's murder.
Others alleged that the video was a "blatant" violation of Twitter's terms of service and "'literal' terrorism backed by CBS."
Some users argued that the move, while "completely crazy", might just be a "publicity stunt" aimed at getting more subscribers for CBS's paid streaming service.
Even Trump's opponents chimed in to criticise CBS, saying such a "call to violence" has "no place in the world."
A few users familiar with the show went the other way, however, saying that in the show's universe, the NSA listens to people's phone calls for these and other code words to protect the president, with this, rather than a call to assassination, being the main message.
Other words seemingly randomly words inserted into the list include "fake news," "Hillary" and "Clinton," "Cheeto," (an insulting nickname for Trump), "Kushner," and "Mueller."
This is the second time CBS and The Good Fight have gotten into trouble over a character discussing the assassination of the president, with similar complaints reported last April.