Democrats Beg Facebook To Continue Trump Ban Beyond January, Ask Company To ‘Analyze’ Truth Social Posts
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Multiple Democratic lawmakers are urging Meta to continue its Facebook ban of former President Donald Trump beyond January, warning allowing him back on the platform could be a “tragic mistake.”
Trump’s Facebook ban followed the January 6 Capitol riot and it is supposed to last two years, meaning January 2023 would potentially be when the Republican could get invited back onto the platform.
Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), André Carson (D-IN) and Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are plenty concerned about this and signed their names to a letter this week addressed to Meta’s President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg.
“Following the 2022 midterm elections, we write to urge Meta to maintain its commitment to keeping dangerous and unfounded election denial content off its platform. To that end, we also urge Meta and its leadership to continue the suspension of former president Donald Trump’s Facebook account beyond January,” the Democrats wrote.
Trump’s rhetoric, they claimed, could “incite violence” and it is Meta’s responsibility to keep him far away from Facebook. They claimed social media companies roll back “misinformation policies” outside of election cycles, and they also requested a briefing on the company’s efforts to combat misinformation.
Schiff and the others provided a list of questions they want answered before said briefing, one being whether Facebook would “analyze” Trump’s Truth Social posts when considering letting him back on the platform. Trump has continued peddling election conspiracy theories on his own platform.
“Will Meta analyze the posts of Trump on Truth Social and other statements he has made when making a decision on his suspended account?” the letter asks.
Clegg said in September that Meta will consult with experts and weigh the risks before determining whether or not to let Trump back onto Facebook.
