Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Shopify, Ban President Trump Following Capitol Riots [VIDEO]
President Donald Trump is facing more criticism and accusations of insurrection following Wednesday’s violent attack on the nation’s Capitol by thousands of his supporters. Twitter, Facebook (Instagram) Pinterest and Shopify are among the social media companies deciding to permanently ban the President over fears he might incite more violence leading up to the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden on January 20.
The chaos inside the Capitol ensued after supporters of President Trump marched earlier in the day. On Wednesday January 6, the President made an appearance at a “Save America March”, to encourage the crowd to march to the Capitol building and push his election fraud agenda, a recurrence in Trump’s dialogue after President-elect Joe Biden defeated the incumbent for the 2020 Presidential election. Around the same time frame as the Trump rally, members of Congress convened inside the Capitol to certify Biden’s win. While ballot counting and votes were in progress, rioters broke barricades, windows and doors, and overwhelmed a short-staffed Capitol police force. Lawmakers inside were evacuated and ushered to a secure locations.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio berated Trump’s instigation of the already-angered protestors and late response to the mayhem. “Donald Trump is a danger to our country and must be removed. Begin impeachment proceedings IMMEDIATELY,” de Blasio tweeted today.
President Trump responded to the insurrection by posting a video on Twitter and Facebook, ordering the rioters to leave. According to reports, Trump’s lack of leadership and almost encouragement of the insurgence prompted social media platforms to ban him from posting. Facebook founder and Instagram owner Mark Zuckerberg decided to ban Trump from posting “indefinitely,” at least until the transfer of power from Trump to Biden after the January 20 inauguration.
Zuckerberg responded with his decision on the ban, stating, “[Trump’s] decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect — and likely their intent — would be to provoke further violence.”
Cuomo also tweeted his reaction on the event. “President Trump didn’t start this yesterday. He started it 4 years ago. When you spread hatred and distrust and division—don’t be surprised at the ugliness. This is the result of years of appealing to the worst in human nature & preying on fear. He deserves universal condemnation.”
Twitter initially banned President Trump from posting for 12 hours after the attack on the Capitol, but later decided to ban him permanently
.”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 listed the tweets it considers a violation of its policy and a further explanation of its decision on the company blog. For more technology , business and New York City culture news follow us on social media @NYCWired.
See tweets from New York lawmakers and one of Trump’s final tweets promoting the Capitol rally below.
