Trump Returns To Facebook, Instagram After Over 2-Year Ban
Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, has announced that Donald Trump’s accounts will be restored on both platforms in the coming weeks.
Trump’s accounts have been banned for about two years ever since supporters of his mobbed the U.S. Capitol building after he lost the 2020 Presidential election.
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This was announced by Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs in a blog post stating that the two-year suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances.
The platform made it clear that it has “put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses”.
“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.
“Our updated protocol also addresses content that does not violate our Community Standards but that contributes to the sort of risk that materialized on January 6, such as content that delegitimizes an upcoming election or is related to QAnon. We may limit the distribution of such posts, and for repeated instances, may temporarily restrict access to our advertising tools.
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“This step would mean that content would remain visible on Mr. Trump’s account but would not be distributed in people’s Feeds, even if they follow Mr. Trump. We may also remove the reshare button from such posts, and may stop them being recommended or run as ads,” Clegg wrote.
The reinstatement of Trump’s accounts could go a long way in boosting his political ambition as he announced that he intends to run for president for again in 2024. He has 23 million Instagram followers and 34 million followers on Facebook.
Back in November, his Twitter account was restored by Twitter CEO, Elon Musk, who conducted a poll on the platform to ask users if they belived Trump’s account should be restored.
About 15 million Twitter users participated in the poll conducted by Musk, with 51.8% supporting restoration of Trump’s account and 48.2% opposing it.
After the poll ended, Musk announced the results tweeting, ““The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.”
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Trump however said he may not return to Twitter because he sees “a lot of problems at Twitter” and will stick to his own social-media platform, Truth Social.”
