Former president of the United States, Donald Trump, is preparing his return to social media. His comeback was prompted by the reinstatement of his Twitter account in November 2022.
Quick Facts
- Donald Trump now has regained access to his Twitter account
- His campaign placed a formal request on Tuesday to Facebook’s parent company Meta to restore his account on the social media platform
- Trump was banned from both platforms in the wake of the Capitol riot two years ago
Trump’s campaign filed a petition to reinstate his account on Facebook. The statement read, “We believe that the ban on President Trump’s account on Facebook has dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse,” revealed by a copy reviewed by NBC News.
Some sources disclosed the possibility of Trump’s campaign filing a lawsuit but it highlighted the importance of free speech and requested Meta for a “meeting to discuss President Trump’s prompt reinstatement to the platform.”
Meta has refused to comment on the matter besides mentioning that the company “will announce a decision in the coming weeks in line with the process we laid out.”
Why was Donald Trump banned on Twitter and Facebook?
Facebook and Twitter suspended Donald Trump one day after a mob of his supporters attacked the US Capitol building and disrupted Joe Biden’s presidential candidature. They intervened as Congress was counting the electoral votes to present Joe Biden’s presidential status in 2020.
In federal court, some members of the mob claimed to have been motivated by Trump who called it “a stolen campaign.” In 2016, Facebook served as a key pathway in actualizing Trump’s motive.
His campaign used computer programming that tailored ads to viewers’ data, a process called microtargeting and raised funds with small-dollar donors to overshadow Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
According to a Facebook internal report, Trump set off 5.9 million different versions of ads, in contrast to 66,000 for Clinton, as revealed by Bloomberg News. However, Facebook changed its guidelines and put limitations on high-volume advertising which outraged Trump’s campaign.
Reports state that Trump used Twitter to call his supporters to Washington, D.C., and when they hijacked the Capitol, he didn’t instruct them to leave and instead, spoke up against Vice President Mike Pence for not helping him overturn the election.
On January 7, 2022, Twitter suspended Trump permanently followed by Facebook which also imposed the ban the same day. The latter shifted the case to its independent Oversight Board, which honored it but criticized Facebook for the open-ended nature of the suspension.
.On June 4, Facebook revised the ban and instituted a limited suspension on Trump that would be eligible for review after two years.
Why is Donald Trump returning to Facebook and Twitter?
Twitter intended to ban Trump permanently, but after reinstating his account on November 19, Elon Musk criticized the management of the business for imposing harsh measures.
Musk even tweeted implying that the former US president should be back on the platform. However, Trump resorted to Truth Social, his own social media platform, and dismissed Twitter saying he doesn’t plan to return.
Trump may decrease his presence on other platforms now that he has Truth Social. The platform, where Trump boasts more than 4.8 million followers, refused to comment on the matter and a spokesman for Trump said the campaign is positive about Trump’s comeback on Twitter.
Another Trump adviser revealed that it is prepared to perpetuate Trump’s vision by engaging with House Republicans who control the lower chamber of Congress and gain authority to challenge or pressure Meta into restoring his account.
Trump, however, is expected to want to expand his social media outreach. He had nearly 88 million on Twitter and 34 million on Facebook, which is massive compared to his clout on Truth Social.
Trump’s campaign is determined to bring Trump’s influence and power back on the site. It also quoted Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg in their message to Facebook stating, “any private company … should tread with great thoughtfulness when seeking to, basically, silence political voices.”
