With initial action of banning President Donald Trump from posting to his Facebook and Instagram accounts, the social media giants CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday the blocks have been extended “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
“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,” wrote Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.
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
YouTube pulled down the President’s address to the rioters Wednesday. Twitter banned the President for 12 hours. When Trump got back on Twitter, he posted a video in which he conceded to Biden and condemned the ‘heinous attack’ on the Capitol.
Zuckerberg said in his post Thursday the risks of allowing Trump to post “are simply too great.”
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., incoming chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, also said the steps by social media platforms to address Trump’s “misuse” are too late and not enough.
“It certainly opens up opportunities of criticism of fairness in the future if it’s perceived that other political leaders and figures make comments that are equally controversial,” said Dr. Michael Horning, a professor of communications at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Horning believes this move will do little long-term to stop the spread of misinformation.
Social media experts say the precedent this move sets for future leaders is unknown.