First modification:
Former US President Donald Trump will be able to use Facebook and Instagram again in the coming weeks. Although it is not known for sure if the former president would be willing to publish content on the large platforms from which he was expelled for inciting violence, these social networks would be key in the midst of his new presidential aspirations. The decision to restore his accounts has been controversial.
After two years of suspension, the company Meta announced that it will restore the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former President Donald Trump in the coming weeks. In this way, the technology joins Twitter’s decision to bring back the former president, who lost access to his accounts after being accused of inciting the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Through a statement, the company argued its decision based on the fact that “the public must be able to hear what their politicians say, the good, the bad and the ugly, so that they can make informed decisions at the polls.”
Blocking Trump had generated more polarization, as they had never done so before with sitting heads of state. Let’s remember that several of his publications had already suffered restrictions for spreading false information, especially with issues related to Covid-19 and vaccines.
If Trump does not comply with the rules, he will be expelled again
On this occasion, Meta clarified that, like any user, Trump is subject to its community standards and in the event that he publishes more content that violates the rules, these posts will be removed and the former president may be suspended again for up to two years, according to the severity of the offence.
Through a publication on his Truth Social social network, Trump celebrated the decision and said that such a thing should never happen again to a sitting president. However, it is not clear if the tycoon will return to publish content on Facebook or Instagram, nor when he would, since since he regained his access to Twitter, he has not sent new tweets.
Although, as reported by ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine, Trump would be seeking to get rid of an exclusivity agreement signed with his own Truth Social platform that requires him to first publish his communications there before being replicated in other spaces. According to the report, once the contract is undone, Trump would be ready to return to the big social networks. Having Meta’s platforms could be key now that he aspires to a new term in the White House by 2024.
Rejections and support for the decision to restore Trump’s accounts
Meta’s decision has unleashed a whole series of reactions for and against. Politicians and human rights organizations have joined this discussion.
Angelo Carusone, president of the organization Media Matters, dedicated to combating ‘fake news’ said that “the company (Meta) knows that it will turn Facebook and Instagram into a dark pit of hate, violence and extremism, but it does not care”. In his opinion, “Facebook is a dying platform, and Meta will do anything to hang on to relevance and revenue, even if it means endangering its users and our democracy.”
The Democratic representative to the United States House, Adam Schiff, recalled that “Trump incited an insurrection and tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power.” The legislator criticized that the former president “has not shown remorse or contrition. Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagogy is dangerous.”
Trump incited an insurrection. And he tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power.
He’s shown no regret. No contrition.
Giving him back access to a social media platform to spread his lies and demagoguery is dangerous.@Facebook caved, giving him a platform to do more harm.
—Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 25, 2023
On the other hand, there are those who were in favor of Trump recovering his Facebook and Instagram accounts. One of them was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was critical of various decisions of the Trump Administration. On this occasion, he said that Meta’s decision was correct. “Like it or not, Trump is one of the leading political figures in the country and the public has a great interest in hearing his speech,” he said.
This is the right call. Like it or not, President Trump is one of the country’s leading political figures and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech. https://t.co/PbY8AevFDy
— ACLU (@ACLU) January 26, 2023
Danish lawyer Jacob Mchangama, a defender of freedom of expression, assured that “Meta made the right decision. I particularly like the emphasis on the right of users to access information.” Mchangama quoted abolitionist Frederick Douglass in noting that “suppressing free speech is a double evil. It violates the rights of the listener as well as the rights of the speaker.”
The comments for or against do not gloss over the fact that with his eventual return to big social media, Trump will be able to use it as a key vehicle for political outreach and fundraising.
Experts point out that his 2016 campaign was a pioneer in leveraging the power of digital advertising tools on Facebook, and that his 2016 and 2020 campaigns spent millions on ads that were key to his small fundraising efforts.
And it is that the tycoon has more than 87 million followers on Twitter, 34 million on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram, compared to the almost five million he has on his own social network Truth Social.
The big question is: will Trump be willing to abide by the rules of these platforms in order to keep his megaphones?
with PA
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