Trump’s user accounts on Facebook and Instagram were closed about two years ago on the grounds that Trump had incited his supporters to violence.
Facebook’s parent company Meta says it plans to release the former US president Donald Trump’s back to their social media platforms.
Meta announced that Trump will get his account back in the next few weeks. At the same time, the company’s spokesperson said that Trump’s accounts are monitored for possible repeated violations of the terms of use. Meta used the expression “guardrail” for the restrictions placed on Trump’s accounts.
Trump’s user accounts on Facebook and Instagram were closed about two years ago on the grounds that Trump had encouraged his supporters to violence before the epiphany unrest in Washington in 2021. Trump’s accounts were also deleted on other platforms, such as the messaging service Twitter.
The Fox news channel reported last week that Trump’s campaign staff had begun negotiations with Meta about restoring Trump’s accounts.
Trump began his campaign for the 2024 presidential election in November.
Trump: Meta “deplatformed” me
The former president recently reacted to Meta’s decision by insulting the company by its old name.
– Facebook, which has lost billions of dollars in value since it “deplatformed” your favorite president, me, has just announced that it will reinstate my account, Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“Deplatforming” is a concept that has become well-known in the English-speaking world in recent years, which means limiting expression platforms, for example in social media, from an individual or entity. The justification for this can be, among other things, hate speech.
According to conservatives, such practices are censorship by liberals against their political opponents.
According to Trump, a social media ban should never happen to a sitting president again.
Sources: AP, AFP