Facebook bans Trump indefinitely for inciting violence
Facebook banned President Donald Trump from the platform “indefinitely” due to his efforts to incite violence at the US Capitol, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday.
Zuckerberg said the 24-hour ban announced Wednesday on Trump’s accounts including on Instagram was extended because of Trump’s “useof our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.”
The Facebook CEO added: “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.”
The announcement came the day after the outgoing US leader was locked out of all major social media platforms due to his false claims about the legitimacy of his loss to Biden, and for inciting the angry
mob that stormed the US Capitol.
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.
“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.”
Trump’s favorite megaphone, Twitter, blocked him for 12 hours, but it was unclear Thursday if the ban had been lifted.❐
