Meta plans to reactivate former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts “in the coming weeks.” announced on Wednesday. The move comes after his two years in the social network. forbidden Trump praised the mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said in the company’s announcement:
playing cards Announced in November 2022 that he will run for president again.His campaign formally petitioned Meta to bring him back to the platform, NBC News report Early this month. Since his suspension, Trump’s profile has been accessible on both his Facebook and Instagram, but not used to create new posts or run ads.
Clegg said Trump’s account “will have new guardrails in place to deter recidivism.” If the former president posts anything that violates Meta’s speech policy, his post will be deleted and he will be suspended again for a period of one month to two years, depending on the severity of the violation. Meta may also limit the reach of his posts and prevent them from being shared or promoted.
In May 2021, Facebook Oversight BoardMeta is a group of outside academics and other experts assembled to make high-level policy decisions. However, they strongly criticized Facebook’s handling, saying the suspension was vague and undefined. bottom. The oversight board gave Facebook six months to re-evaluate.
Facebook’s ban was the first time a major social network had Trump banned from its platform. Twitter followed after 1 dayHowever, in November, Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, restored the account. However, Trump has not tweeted since.
Trump responded to the news on Wednesday night on the platform he founded, Truth Social.
“FACEBOOK, which has lost billions of dollars in value since ‘de-platforming’ my favorite president, has announced that it will revive my account. And it should never happen again to others who don’t deserve it… of retaliation! ’ he wrote. “Thank you TRUTH SOCIAL for such an incredible job. Your growth is remarkable and your future is limitless!!!”
During his presidency, Trump spread hate and lies to large audiences on Facebook.he ran advertisements reminiscent of Nazi symbolsto justify violence against Black Lives Matter protesters,When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Comparing COVID-19 to Influenza Long after the dangers of new diseases became apparent, Spread false information about electionslaid the groundwork for riots.
Facebook has largely avoided taking action against the former president since January 6. despite evidence that their labels were ineffectiveNevertheless, executives justified leaving his post employee protests.
Zuckerberg wrote on January 7, 2021, “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue using our services during this period are very high.” It will take several weeks for the peaceful transition of power to be completed,” he said.
Meta’s decision will have ripple effects not only in the United States, but around the world, Center for Digital Hate CEO Imran Ahmed told BuzzFeed News.
“He will go back to spreading misinformation on social media,” Ahmed said. “It would send a very direct message that impunity will continue and that malicious behavior will have no repercussions.”
In a statement Wednesday, Wendy Veer, head of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said Mehta’s decision would empower far-right leaders, not just Trump, but around the world.
“Facebook’s decision to bring Donald Trump back onto the platform is incredibly dangerous. Time and time again we have seen Trump’s lies and rhetoric spread hate, incite violence and undermine democracy. she said. “Facebook, which has nearly 3 billion active users, welcomes Trump back to the site, showing it’s willingness to help spread hate and extremism.”
Jane Lytvyenko and Ryan Mac contributed to this report.
