Twitter Permanently Suspended President Donald Trump’s Account

Twitter permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account
on Friday.

The company said in a tweet it made the decision “due to the
risk of further incitement of violence.”

The decision came after Facebook made a similar call, extending
an initial 24 hour suspension to an indefinite one that CEO Mark
Zuckerberg said would last at least through the end of Trump’s
term.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.

Trump first experienced temporary bans from both platforms on
Jan. 6 in the midst of a riot where his supporters stormed the U.S.
Capitol as lawmakers proceeded with the formality of counting
Electoral College votes. Many lawmakers and even former members of
Trump’s administration criticized Trump for encouraging his
supporters to reject the election results and protest at the
Capitol. Congress later reaffirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the
presidential election.

As the riot unfolded, Trump tweeted messages encouraging
non-violence, though he later released a video message that also
reiterated his unsubstantiated claim that the election was stolen
from him and told rioters “we love you.”

Twitter initially blocked some of Trump’s tweets from public
view on Wednesday and required he delete them to regain access to
his account. After the deletion, he was locked out of the account
for another 12 hours. But, Twitter warned, future policy violations
would result in permanent suspension of Trump’s account.

In his first tweet after returning to Twitter on Jan. 7, Trump
posted a video message urging calm and giving the closest thing to
a concession speech he has yet, saying there would be a transition
to a new administration. Still, he told supporters, “our incredible
journey is only just beginning.”

Later, Trump tweeted, “To all of those who have asked, I will
not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”

Twitter said in a blog post that the two tweets “must be read in
the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which
the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences,
including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the
pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks.”

Twitter determined those tweets violated its Glorification of
Violence Policy, prompting the ban.

The suspensions from Facebook and Twitter represent a major
shift at the companies, which have up until now avoided taking such
a drastic measure on Trump’s accounts. Executives at both companies
have been faced with intense criticism for treating Trump’s and
other conservatives’ accounts unfairly, which both have denied.

Now, the platform’s role in perpetuating messages from the
president and his supporters who planned the riot are being
scrutinized by the public.

This story is developing

Twitter permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account
on Friday.

The company said in a tweet it made the decision “due to the
risk of further incitement of violence.”

The decision came after Facebook made a similar call, extending
an initial 24 hour suspension to an indefinite one that CEO Mark
Zuckerberg said would last at least through the end of Trump’s
term.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.

Trump first experienced temporary bans from both platforms on
Jan. 6 in the midst of a riot where his supporters stormed the U.S.
Capitol as lawmakers proceeded with the formality of counting
Electoral College votes. Many lawmakers and even former members of
Trump’s administration criticized Trump for encouraging his
supporters to reject the election results and protest at the
Capitol. Congress later reaffirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the
presidential election.

As the riot unfolded, Trump tweeted messages encouraging
non-violence, though he later released a video message that also
reiterated his unsubstantiated claim that the election was stolen
from him and told rioters “we love you.”

Twitter initially blocked some of Trump’s tweets from public
view on Wednesday and required he delete them to regain access to
his account. After the deletion, he was locked out of the account
for another 12 hours. But, Twitter warned, future policy violations
would result in permanent suspension of Trump’s account.

In his first tweet after returning to Twitter on Jan. 7, Trump
posted a video message urging calm and giving the closest thing to
a concession speech he has yet, saying there would be a transition
to a new administration. Still, he told supporters, “our incredible
journey is only just beginning.”

Later, Trump tweeted, “To all of those who have asked, I will
not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”

Twitter said in a blog post that the two tweets “must be read in
the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which
the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences,
including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the
pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks.”

Twitter determined those tweets violated its Glorification of
Violence Policy, prompting the ban.

The suspensions from Facebook and Twitter represent a major
shift at the companies, which have up until now avoided taking such
a drastic measure on Trump’s accounts. Executives at both companies
have been faced with intense criticism for treating Trump’s and
other conservatives’ accounts unfairly, which both have denied.

Now, the platform’s role in perpetuating messages from the
president and his supporters who planned the riot are being
scrutinized by the public.

This story is developing