Donald Trump may run for president, but he still can’t use Facebook: The social network has no plans to reinstate the former president’s account after he announced Tuesday he will try to get a second term in the White House, the company confirmed Wednesday . trump was banned from facebook following the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Federal Capitol.
However, Trump may not have to wait too long to return to the site. His suspension from Facebook will be reviewed in January, two years after the fine was imposed.
One change will be immediate: as a candidate, Trump will no longer be subject to fact-checking by Facebook. That’s because, according to Facebook’s rules, comments from elected officials and candidates for public office aren’t fact-checked on their site. The Associated Press participates in Facebook’s independent fact-checking program.
During his tenure as president, Trump’s use of social media presented a major challenge for major platforms as they tried to balance the need to listen to their elected leaders with concerns about misinformation, harassment, and incitement to violence.
After the January 6 riot, Trump was also banned from Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, which are owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta. YouTube suspended the Trump’s ability to post videos on his channel.
YouTube spokeswoman Ivy Choi said Wednesday that the company has no plans to lift the suspension.
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, said he disagreed with the platform’s decision to oust Trump after the January 6 attack. Musk noted that no announcements will be made about reinstating banned users until the matter is reviewed by a content moderation committee.
Twitter did not respond to questions about whether Trump’s candidacy will impact the decision. Since being suspended, Trump has started his own social network, TruthSocial, and has said so he has no plans to rejoin Twitter even if he is allowed to.
Trump’s account was initially suspended by Facebook on Jan. 6 for 24 hours after he praised rioters who stormed the Capitol. Facebook creator and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced an indefinite suspension on Jan. 7, adding that “the risks of allowing the president to continue using our service during this time are just too great.”
The company’s quasi-independent supervisory board upheld the ban, but ordered Facebook to set a deadline. The ban expires on January 7, 2023.
Also, it will stop controlling it
Along with this measure, Facebook has informed its employees that it will stop verifying the veracity of Donald Trump’s statements, after the tycoon announces that he will run again for the presidency of the United States, CNN reported Tuesday.
Although Trump is currently banned from Facebook, fact-checking teams continue to monitor the veracity of his statements, as parts of his speeches can be posted on the platform by other users.
For example, a page run by the former president’s team called “Team Trump” is still active on the platform and has more than 2.3 million followers.
“Some of you have contacted us asking for guidance on verifying statements of political speech, in light of the possible candidacy of former President Trump,” reads the statement sent by Meta, the company that owns Facebook, to its employees.
The release also states that “political speech does not fall into the categories to which the verification of statements applies”. In this sense, it clarifies that this includes “the sayings of a politician, as well as photos, videos or other content that they are clearly labeled as created by the politician or his campaign.
Source: Clarin
Linda Price is a tech expert at News Rebeat. With a deep understanding of the latest developments in the world of technology and a passion for innovation, Linda provides insightful and informative coverage of the cutting-edge advancements shaping our world.