Donald Trump to get his Facebook, Instagram accounts back ahead of US polls 2024
1 min read . Updated: 01 Feb 2023, 07:21 PM IST
PremiumTrump's social media accounts were suspended in the wake of the January 6 Capitol attack.
After Elon Musk-owned Twitter reinstated former Donald Trump’s accounts late last year, now Meta said on Wednesday that it will restore the former US President's accounts on Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks. Trump's social media handles were suspended in the wake of the January 6 Capitol attack.
Announcing the same, Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said in a blog post, “Our determination is that the risk [to public safety] has sufficiently receded. As such, we will be reinstating Mr. Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks. However, we are doing so with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses."
Two years ago, we took action in what were extreme and highly unusual circumstances. We indefinitely suspended then-US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. We then referred that decision to the Oversight Board — an expert body established to be an independent check and balance on our decision-making. The Board upheld the decision but criticized the open-ended nature of the suspension and the lack of clear criteria for when and whether suspended accounts will be restored, directing us to review the matter to determine a more proportionate response., Clegg said.
With Trump getting his Facebook and Instagram accounts back, he will get access to huge and powerful communications and fundraising platforms just ahead of the upcoming election campaign. But it is yet to be seen whether he uses the accounts. The former US president has not posted anything on his Twitter account since it has been restored, this is despite the fact that once he was extremely vocal on the social media platform.
However, a CNN report cited Trump’s campaign earlier this month sent a letter to Meta petitioning the company to unblock his Facebook account making his return more likely. Although Twitter was always Trump’s preferred platform, he has a massive reach on Facebook and Instagram — 34 million followers and 23 million followers, respectively, ahead of his reinstatement. Previous Trump campaigns have lauded the effectiveness of Facebook’s targeted advertising tools and have spent millions running Facebook ads.
