While Trump allegedly used the platform to unionize a riot in the U.S. Capitol, Mark Zuckerberg banned the sitting president from the platform, indefinitely. Trump used the application to intensify tensions between Silicon Valley and the White House.
Other Social Media Apps that banned POTUS like Zuckerberg
Facebook followed suit after Twitter banned the President for about 12 hours. Although the app lifted its suspension, Facebook and Instagram are unlikely to follow the same steps. The media mammoth stated that it was a “great risk” to let Trump consume their service for the time being. He further said in his statement that the accounts would only restore, at least after the inauguration of the new administration (President-elect Joe Biden).
Why was POTUS banned?
President Donald Trump weaponized the platforms to instigate his followers to break havoc in the U.S. Capitol. During the four years of his term, he has released false information, widely attacked his critics, and spread massive amounts of uproar following his handling of the George Floyd riots and COVID-19.
Following the ban, several media outlets and other citizens were polarized towards the action. While some seemed happy to have finally silenced the President, Zuckerberg, along with other platforms, were criticized for taking the step a little too late. These critics did not fumble before pointing out that these bans were only applied in a synchronized clock with the political change- that the Biden-Administration will be transitioned within the next 13 days.
Two of these prominent critics were Senator Marc R. Warner and Jennifer Palmieri, who was Hillary Clinton’s director of communications. They pointed out that this step of policing Trump’s hate-speech could have been done long ago and more effectively.
Mark Zuckerberg’s decision nevertheless may prove futile, as the Far Right movement is still running campaigns and pages against the new President-elect. These several online movements resulted in the uproar that has terrorized the U.S. in a civil war state.
