Trump Banned from Social Media

A number of social media giants have banned outgoing US President Donald Trump from using his accounts on their platforms.

Facebook and Instagram announced that they would be permanently banning Trump from posting to them, while Twitter handed Trump a 12-hour ban – for reportedly tweeting out his repeatedly unfounded voter fraud allegations and calling rioters “patriots”. 

Video streaming platform Twitch has also permanently banned the president.

Over his 4-year term as president, using social media has been Trump’s favoured way of addressing the public, and his supporters.

But after a pro-Trump rally and protest on Wednesday turned violent – during which the president whipped up his supporters in a frenzy and encouraged them to “Take Back America” – and thousands stormed and vandalised the US Capitol Building, the social media giants have tried to avoid further violence.

Many on social media feel that the president should have been muzzled long ago, however, it’s likely that with his diminished power as the outgoing president, who will step down in two weeks, that the bans have only become possible recently.