Former president Donald Trump is back in action. Well, on social media to be precise! In January, Meta announced that the company will allow “Donald Trump to return back to Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks” following a two-year suspension. Now, Trump has finally gained access to the two most used social networking sites, providing a boost to his presidential campaign.
Trump’s FB And Facebook Restored…
Meta has done it! The company has finally restored controversial former president, Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, putting an end to a two-year suspension whilst the Capitol Riots. Meta spokesperson, Andy Stone confirmed the move on Thursday (Feb. 9). Trump had 23 million followers on Instagram and 34 million on Facebook as of January.
Facebook suspended Trump in January 2021 for “praising people engaged in violent acts at the Capitol”. As the infamous Republican regains access to two important platforms, the move will serve as a boost for voter outreach and political fundraising ahead of another run for the White House in 2023. Perfect timing for Trump, isn’t it?
The Reinstatement Comes With Conditions…
Last month, Meta announced that it will allow Donald Trump to return back to Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks. However, the company also mentioned that in case the former president violates any content policies, his account will be subject to additional suspensions.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs wrote in a blog post on Jan. 25, 2023: “As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open, public and democratic debate on Meta’s platforms — especially in the context of elections in democratic societies like the United States. The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying — the good, the bad and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box.”
In his blog post, Meta’s Nick Clegg also stated that it has “put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.” People have raised queries regarding what exactly these guardrails are. “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,” explained Nick in his blog post.
Back in 2021, Facebook, Twitter and Google, made an unprecedented decision to ban the then-sitting president Donald Trump from their platforms during the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot. The companies determined that doing so “outweighed the risk of potential further incitement to violence”. However, their actions varied in their degrees.
For instance, Twitter opted for a permanent ban while Facebook stated that its suspension was temporarily setting a two-year timeline). So why is this reinstatement so crucial for Donald Trump? Well, we all know the answer to it. Meta’s move to revoke the controversial politician’s Instagram and Facebook suspension comes at perfect timing. The move will serve as a booster for his next presidential run.
We all are aware that his third bid for the presidency has failed to attract the kind of attention Turmp expected so far. Being back on the two biggest social media platforms means two things: massive voter outreach and increased fundraising ahead of another presidential run for the White House in 2024. Phew, Make America Great Again! is all that Trump would be posting now. Another controversial year, isn’t it?