Donald Trump has now been fully reinstated on social media. Twitter released him from the bonds of political correctness jail upon Elon Musk’s takeover. Facebook and Instagram have now followed, insisting that “new guardrails” will be constructed to “deter repeat offenses” (via NBC News):
Former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are being reinstated, the social media giant Meta announced Wednesday — a little more than two years after he was suspended from the platforms over incendiary posts on the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said Trump’s accounts will be reinstated “in the coming weeks” and come with “new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.”
Those guardrails will include "heightened penalties for repeat offenses — penalties which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under our updated protocol. In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation," Clegg said on the company's website.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Breaking News: Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram access will be reinstated in the coming weeks, ending a two-year ban, Meta said.https://t.co/RRfYEQlkAf
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 25, 2023
BREAKING: Facebook parent company Meta has reinstated former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following a two-year suspension https://t.co/7DYljGyQ2p pic.twitter.com/AKO1F39sJz
— Bloomberg Technology (@technology) January 25, 2023
Trump was exiled from these platforms after the January 6 riot, but he’s now an official 2024 presidential candidate. He can’t be muzzled like this, so a decision about his permanent suspension on these platforms was coming to a head, no matter who oversaw Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Trump has over 80 million followers on Twitter, an incredible reach that he described as running the New York Times, but without the losses. However, the former president has remained committed to posting on his platform, Truth Social.