US President Donald Trump returned to Twitter with a video acknowledging that Joe Biden would be the next US president as other social media services including Facebook blocked his accounts over concerns that his messages might spark further violent protests.
US President Donald Trump returned to Twitter on Thursday with a video acknowledging that Joe Biden would be the next US president as other social media services including Facebook blocked his accounts over concerns that his messages might spark further violent protests. Twitter unlocked the president’s @realDonaldTrump Twitter account, which has 88 million followers, after Trump removed three rule-breaking tweets. His first post back on the platform featured a video in which he said he was focused on a peaceful transition of power and which was viewed 1.4 million times within 15 minutes of posting. Tech companies have been scrambling to crack down on the president’s baseless claims about the November 3 US presidential election after hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in unrest that resulted in four deaths. Trump’s accounts remain blocked on Facebook and Instagram for at least two weeks and perhaps indefinitely. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Thursday post that the risks of allowing him to use the platform were „simply too great.“ Facebook’s move marked the most significant sanction of the president by a major social media company. Live-streaming platform Twitch and photo-sharing service Snap issued similar bans. „The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,“ Zuckerberg said in his Facebook post. White House spokesman Judd Deere said in response that the companies had censored the president at a critical time for the country. „Big Tech is out of control,“ he said. Zuckerberg said the block on Trump’s Facebook page, which has 35 million followers, would last at least until Biden takes office on January 20.
