TechDigits

Tech news
Thursday, Mar 23, 2023

Pressure builds to keep Donald Trump off Facebook ahead of his possible reinstatement

Pressure builds to keep Donald Trump off Facebook ahead of his possible reinstatement

Trump's suspension could be lifted as soon as January, but Democratic lawmakers argue that he's still threatening public safety with misinformation.
Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning groups are pressuring Meta to keep Donald Trump off Facebook as the company weighs whether to reinstate his account as early as January.

They argue that the former president and current Republican presidential candidate shouldn't be allowed back on the platform because he continues to threaten public safety by spreading misinformation. Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended after the January 6, 2021, insurrection when a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol, hoping to overturn the 2020 election in his favor.

"On Facebook, he has a very large reach," said Kayla Gogarty, deputy research director of Media Matters for America. "Based on his current patterns, we're seeing him amplify extremism, problematic content that has been linked to real world violence."

Nearly half of Trump's posts and reposts on Truth Social in the week after the 2022 midterm elections pushed claims of election fraud and amplified QAnon accounts or content, according to December research from Media Matters. Another study by Accountable Tech found more than 350 of Trump's Truth Social posts would violate Facebook's safety guidelines.

"So if Meta allows him back on, it's essentially giving Trump a green light to push election misinformation again, dangerous rhetoric and extremism to millions of users who would not otherwise have access to it," Gogarty told Insider.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, tweeted "he's more unhinged and dangerous than ever."


Trump was suspended from Facebook for two years after praising the Capitol rioters. He had posted a video telling the mob, "We love you, you're very special," and asking them to go home.

Facebook removed some of his statements, but his page still remains frozen on January 6, 2021, serving as a chilling reminder of the violence on that day that led to five deaths. 

Posts that remain on the page show Trump exhorting his supporters to support law enforcement and be peaceful, but only after earlier posts in which he spread misinformation about voter fraud and accused his vice president, Mike Pence, of lacking courage for not taking action to overturn the election results.

Trump's spokespeople did not respond when asked whether he intends to return to Facebook if reinstated. Trump's Twitter suspension has lifted under its new owner Elon Musk, but Trump hasn't returned to the site. He has said prefers Truth Social.

Asked about Trump, a Meta spokesman pointed to a June 4, 2021, company statement, which said the company would consult with experts after the two-year suspension to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded. 

"When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr. Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts," the company statement says.

However, Facebook fact checkers were reportedly told they could not verify the facts and claims in his posts if Trump were a presidential candidate, which he now is.

The studies by Media Matters for America and Accountability Tech coincided with their relaunch of a "Keep Trump Off Facebook" campaign, which included a six-figure digital and TV ad buy. 

"His activity on Truth Social speaks to his potential activity if he's allowed back on some of these more mainstream platforms, like Facebook," Gogarty said.

Democratic members of Congress, meanwhile, are urging Meta to uphold Trump's suspension beyond January, arguing that the risk of violence persists. Schiff, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Reps. André Carson and Kathy Castor wrote a letter to Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs.

"Trump has continued to post harmful election content on Truth Social that would likely violate Facebook's policies, and we have every reason to believe he would bring similar conspiratorial rhetoric back to Facebook, if given the chance," the letter said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
Close
0:00
0:00
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
A brief banking situation report
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Charlie Munger, calls for a ban on cryptocurrencies in the US, following China's lead
First generation unopened iPhone set to fetch more than $50,000 at auction.
Almost 30% of professionals say they've tried ChatGPT at work
Interpol seeks woman who ran elaborate exam cheating scam in Singapore
What is ChatGPT?
Tesla reported record profits and record revenues for 2022
Microsoft is finalising plans to become the latest technology giant to reduce its workforce during a global economic slowdown
Tesla slashes prices globally by as much as 20 percent
After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names
FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
U.S. Moves to Seize Robinhood Shares, Silvergate Accounts Tied to FTX
Coinbase to Pay $100 Million in Settlement With New York Regulator
FTX assets worth $3.5bn held by Bahamas securities regulator
Former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried finally arrested in Bahamas after U.S. files charges
Corruption works: House Financial Services Chair Waters doesn't plan to subpoena her donor, Sam Bankman-Fried, to testify at hearing on FTX collapse
Yellen hints at ‘national security’ probe into Twitter purchase
Elon Musk reinstates Donald Trump's Twitter account.
George W. Bush and Barack Obama will hold back-to-back disinformation conferences
Solar + Powerwall ensures you never lose power, even if the grid goes down
This man paid for strangers' grocery and it moved them to tears
Meta introduces a new version of Mark Zuckerberg
Virtual Reality on billboards: BMW advertisement on Times Square
Apple CEO Tim Cook says coding should be taught as early as elementary school: 'It's the most important language you can learn'
Apple Executive Resigns After Viral TikTok Shows Him Making Crude Jokes
Huawei is not only better technology, but also protecting users better: Apple Warns Of Security Flaw For Iphones, Ipads And Macs
Mark Zuckerberg warns many teams will ‘shrink’ as Meta revenue drops
Elon Musk reportedly begged for forgiveness after his affair with Google co-founder Sergey Brin's wife
J.P. Morgan’s wealth management guru has some advice for recent college graduates on managing money and building wealth
Pentagon widens scope of UFO-hunting unit
Bezos' girlfriend Lauren Sanchez gives $1M to group focused on migrant kids at US-Mexico border
Hong Kong gets its first metaverse churches with avatars and virtual preachers
The ‘Dirty Quid Pro Quo’ Between Democrats and Big Tech
Elon Musk swore in March not to sell any Bitcoin, but Tesla cashed out 75% of its Bitcoin holdings amid the crypto winter just months later
Crypto winter continues at Gemini as another round of layoffs hits Winklevoss crypto exchange
×