SALT LAKE CITY — Twitter announced Friday evening that President Donald Trump’s account has been permanently suspended “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action,” the social media platform posted from its Twitter Safety account.
Trump’s account was temporarily suspended Wednesday after he released a video and statement asking rioters to go home but continued to spread misinformation about widespread voter fraud.
After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.https://t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021
“I know your pain. I know you’re hurt. We had an election stolen from us; it was a landslide election, and everyone knows it — especially the other side. But you have to go home now,” he said, in part, in a message directed at protesters rioting in the U.S. Capitol, and continued on to add “We love you. You’re very special.”
After Twitter, along with Facebook and Youtube, removed the video he released a statement after Congress voted to certify the election and declared Joe Biden the winner promising an “orderly” transition of power.
He posted another video on Thursday afternoon acknowledging that a new administration will take charge on Jan. 20. That statement has also been removed from the social media platform.
Twitter said its platform is designed to “enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly,” however it has made the decision to enforce its policies preventing the app from being used to “incite violence.”
The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, January 7, 2021
Facebook, along with Instagram, “indefinitely” locked Trump’s account on Thursday.
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg wrote in the post. “Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
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