Finally, after all most four years of the Trump presidency, the social media accounts of the soon-to-be former US president have all but been removed, with Twitter finally announcing the removal of Trump’s account.
Citing repeated violations of policy against inciting violence, Twitter’s safety team took action earlier this morning:
After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.
Twitter Safety
The move comes after Facebook did the same for Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram, after widespread condemnation of Trump’s public incitement and support of the US Capitol riots earlier this week.
In further news, the Parler social network which bills itself as an “unbiased” alternative to the more mainstream social media options, has been removed from Google Play, and given 24 hours to clean up its act before removal from Apple’s App Store.
In a statement given to Politico, Google says that they have a longstanding policy in place that requires apps that have user-generated content to have a moderation policy and enforcement that removes anything egregious, like a post that could incite violence.
Parler doesn’t have a moderation policy – making it the perfect haven for right wing nut jobs – and numerous posts inciting the kinds of violence we’ve seen in the US have drawn Google’s further scrutiny.
As someone shocked and horrified by the events that unfolded this week, I’m glad that – finally – the tools of Trump’s influence are being denied to him.
There is an argument that private companies shouldn’t censor public discourse in this manner, and to an extent, I’d agree. However, when you look at Trump’s track record here and the totality of his public statements and actions especially in the last couple of months … well. He won’t be missed.
