(PatriotWise.com) – Former President Donald Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram will soon be reinstated, according to a January decision from the platforms’ parent company, Meta.
Trump’s accounts were banned in the wake of the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol. Ever since then, widespread questions have been raised regarding whether he should be allowed back on the platforms.
At first, Trump’s accounts were banned permanently. The former president was also banned by Twitter, but his account on that platform was reinstated after Elon Musk’s takeover in November 2022.
Still, two years have passed since his Meta accounts were initially banned. During that time, Trump built and launched his own platform, Truth Social, where he actively posts. Despite the reinstatement of his Twitter account, he has not returned to active use of that platform.
Here’s his final Tweet, from January 8, 2021:
To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2021
Meta’s position in the debate over Trump’s accounts has been a hot-button one. Activists, legislators, and other experts fear that Trump could use his accounts to incite violence. They allege that Trump spread misinformation, and that his open access to social media could endanger people’s lives.
Common Sense Media founder and CEO James Steyer alleges that Trump’s behavior has become more negative and threatening since he was first banned from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
“Permitting him to return now would be a serious affront to our democracy and to Meta’s own publicly declared standards,” Steyer said. “The ban should be made permanent.”
In December, Capitol Hill Democrats sent a letter to Meta, in which they begged for Trump’s ban to continue indefinitely. They alleged that Trump’s election disinformation and ongoing dialogue around the 2020 election on Truth Social was inciting violence.
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, there continues to be a call for continued checks on Trump’s online speech.
Media Matters for America president and CEO Angelo Carusone said, “When Trump is given a platform, it ratchets up the temperature on a landscape that is already simmering – one that will put us on a path to increased violence.”
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