More than two years after the storming of the Capitol, ex-President Trump could soon celebrate his comeback on Facebook.
Observers are divided.
Munich – Former US President Donald Trump will soon be able to celebrate his comeback on the Facebook platform.
As the Facebook parent company Meta explained on Wednesday, the blocking of Trump's accounts will "end in the coming weeks".
"The public should be able to hear what politicians are saying so that they can make informed decisions," the tech company justified its decision.
This is reported by fr.de.
Trump is allowed to celebrate a comeback on Facebook – two years after the storming of the Capitol
Trump's accounts were blocked as a result of the events of January 6, 2021.
On that day, radical supporters of the former US President stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC to prevent Trump from being voted out of office.
A few months earlier, Trump lost to Joe Biden in the US presidential election and missed out on re-election.
Trump had already spread rumors before the election that the Democrats would falsify the election results.
Subsequent investigations found no evidence to support the ex-president's allegations.
A total of five people died in the storming of the Capitol.
After Trump had further heated up the angry demonstrators via social media post, various platforms – including Twitter and Facebook – were blocked.
The ban on Twitter was lifted last year after Tesla founder Elon Musk bought the platform.
However, Trump has not made a post on Twitter since then.
In addition to Facebook, the social network Instagram also belongs to the meta group.
There, too, Trump gets his account back.
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Former US President Trump could soon celebrate his comeback on Facebook.
© EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP
Criticism of Meta's decision: Facebook refuels Trump's "extremism machine".
Reactions to Meta's announcement were mixed.
"Like it or not, ex-President Trump is one of the world's leading political figures and the public has a keen interest in hearing what he says," the civil rights organization ACLU said.
The left-wing organization Media Matters for America, on the other hand, sharply criticized the decision: "Don't be fooled: By letting Donald Trump back onto the platforms, the Meta corporation is refueling Trump's disinformation and extremism machine."
MetaPolicy chief Nick Clegg said "new guard rails" have been put in place to prevent violations of the platforms' rules.
Trump would face "heavier penalties for repeat offenses" for his previous violations of the user rules.
Should the ex-president re-post content that violates the User Rules, "the content will be removed and he (Trump) will be banned for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation."
After Trump was banned from the usual social media platforms, the ex-president quickly founded his own network "Truth Social".
There the 76-year-old continues to rail against the Democrats, his adversary Joe Biden and fuels the narrative of the stolen 2020 election.
US presidential election 2024: Facebook again threatens Trump with consequences
As Meta announced on Wednesday, the ex-president should also be allowed to attack the results of the last presidential election on Facebook and Instagram without having to fear consequences.
This was reported by the US news channel CNN.
However, should Trump post misinformation about upcoming elections - like the 2024 presidential election - Meta will respond.
As possible consequences, the tech giant could limit the distribution of the post in question or limit the opportunity for promotional tools.
Trump announced last year that he would run again as the Republican presidential candidate in 2024.
January 6, 2021 - the storming of the Capitol in pictures
January 6, 2021 - the storming of the Capitol in pictures
"By default, we let people have their say, even if what they have to say is awkward or factually incorrect," Clegg said, explaining Meta's decision.
Should Trump share similar content on Facebook, as he is currently doing on Truth Social, the tech company could soon be forced to act.
On his own network, the ex-president recently called for journalists from the US magazine
Politico
to be arrested until they revealed their sources.
(fd/dpa)
List of rubrics: © EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP