Meta has lifted the final restrictions on Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the run up to US presidential elections in November.
The ex-US president and convicted felon’s accounts were suspended in 2021 after he praised supporters who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January.
Trump’s accounts, which combined have over 60 million followers, were re-instated in 2023 but subject to additional monitoring, which has now been removed, the social media giant said in a blog post.
Meta said it had a responsibility to allow political expression and that Americans should be able to hear from presidential nominees on an equal basis.
Meta said it had a responsibility to allow political expression and that Americans should be able to hear from presidential nominees on an equal basis.
I hate to say it, but they’re right. They can’t silence one of the two candidates for the presidency.
Imagine piping up to defend the non-existent “right” of a self declared fascist to spew his lies. 🤯
Careful not to choke on that boot…
The fact you think I support Trump or Facebook tells me all I need to know about the quality of the discourse in this thread. No wonder the left can’t get anything done in your shithole of a country.
Yes they can. They are a private corporate and can do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t target a protected class, and it doesn’t.
And in particular, they didn’t silence him because of politics, but because he was conspiring with insurrectionists. Active treason. Stochastic terrorism.
And in particular, they didn’t silence him because of politics, but because he was conspiring with insurrectionists. Active treason. Stochastic terrorism.
Has he been convicted of that? We can all wring our hands as much as we want, and god knows I’m not a Trump supporter, but Facebook are not going to embroil themselves into a legal battle over this.
He’s been convicted in the court of public opinion. Facebook doesn’t need to wait for a court to bar him from their platform.
The problem is that it fundamentally makes them a political org to choose one side over the other. There are very strong arguments that insisting on “no political discussion” is an inherently conservative stance, but by allowing one candidate to speak but the other to not they are implicitly supporting the former.
And the US Government has made it clear that they don’t consider a violent insurrection to be treason. So why should facebook go to bat and make themselves an even bigger target come January?
The problem is that it fundamentally makes them a political org to choose one side over the other
Yes. They have once again sided against their own rules and the law in favor of unlimited disinformation and calls for violence.
NOT because they’re taking a stand against unfair censorship. The real reason is that his stochastic terrorism breeds TONS of engagement and thus advertising income and marketable data.
but by allowing one candidate to speak but the other to not they are implicitly supporting the former.
That would have been true if either both or neither had exhibited a pattern of blatant contempt for the rules of the platform. Since only one did that, it’s preferential treatment to NOT kick him off permanently.
And the US Government has made it clear that they don’t consider a violent insurrection to be treason
Prosecutors sacrifying full justice and accuracy in exchange for an easier path to conviction isn’t the US government making anything clear.
So why should facebook go to bat and make themselves an even bigger target come January?
Because aiding and abetting a fascist uprising by voiding the rules that everyone else has to abide by isn’t an admirable or even acceptable thing to do.
The problem is that it fundamentally makes them a political org to choose one side over the other.
And the US Government has made it clear that they don’t consider a violent insurrection to be treason.
No they didn’t. They prosecuted a LOT of people for that.
So why should facebook go to bat and make themselves an even bigger target come January?
That’s the reason. Fuck Facebook’s own rules, they are trying to mitigate an attack by a fascist dictator.
