- Have any questions?
- 02 9247 6000
- media@commsroom.co
- Have any questions?
- 02 9247 6000
- media@commsroom.co
Menu
Following a two-year suspension after the tragic Capitol Hill riot in 2021, Meta Platforms will restore former US President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the next weeks.
Following a two-year suspension after the tragic Capitol Hill riot in 2021, social media giant Meta Platforms will restore former US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the next weeks.
Following a two-year suspension after the tragic Capitol Hill riot in 2021, Meta Platforms will restore former US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the next weeks.
Trump, who earlier declared his third run for the White House in 2024, has 34 million Facebook followers and 23 million Instagram followers, both of which are important channels for political outreach and fundraising.
Meta said in a blog post that it has “put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offences.”
Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg wrote, “In the event that Mr Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation.”
The move to ban Trump polarised Meta, the world’s largest social media firm, which has never previously blocked the account of a sitting head of state for breaking its content standards.
Read also: ChatGPT: The AI tool that’s got people going crazy (commsroom.co)
After removing two of Trump’s posts during the Capitol Hill incident, including a video in which he reaffirmed his bogus claim of massive voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, Meta suspended Trump’s access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely.
It then forwarded the case to its independent oversight board, which determined that the suspension was lawful but that its indefinite character was not. Meta then said that the suspension would be reconsidered in two years.
It is uncertain whether, and how, Trump will take advantage of the opportunity to return to Facebook and Instagram.
Other social media platforms also banned him, until he was reinstated on Twitter in November after Elon Musk took over the the bird app. He has not tweeted since, preferring to stick with his own app Truth Social.
Last week, his campaign spokesman told Fox News Digital that being back on Facebook “will be an important tool for the 2024 campaign to r each voters.”
“Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!” Trump responded to his reinstatement on Meta apps in a post on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, Democrat Representative Adam Schiff, who previously chaired the House intelligence committee, slammed Trump’s reinstatement.
“Trump incited an insurrection. Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous,” Schiff wrote on Twitter.
You may also want to read: Holographic communications provider expands into Australia (commsroom.co)
With AAP.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
