On Friday, Meta quietly lifted all restrictions on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former U.S. President Donald Trump, allowing him to fully resume his social media activities as he heads into the November election.
Donald Trump’s accounts were initially suspended in January 2021 following the Capitol Riots, due to his perceived role in inciting the violence. Meta’s independent Oversight Board later recommended setting clearer guidelines for such suspensions, leading Meta to establish a two-year suspension period for similar cases in the future.
Now, Meta has confirmed that Trump’s accounts are fully reinstated.
“With the party conventions taking place shortly, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will soon be formally nominated. In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis. As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties. In reaching this conclusion, we also considered that these penalties were a response to extreme and extraordinary circumstances, and have not had to be deployed. All US Presidential candidates remain subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.”
It’s important to note that Meta had already announced Donald Trump’s potential return to its platforms in January last year. Now, all remaining restrictions and monitoring processes from his initial suspension have been removed. This means Donald Trump’s posts will be treated like any other user’s posts, confirming Meta’s earlier stance.
While Trump is still linked to his own platform, Truth Social, due to financial interests, his reinstatement on Facebook is notable. During his previous campaign, Donald Trump’s team spent over $20 million on Facebook ads in 2019 alone. Although he primarily used Twitter to communicate, Facebook played a significant role in promoting his agenda.
So, even if Donald Trump doesn’t post as frequently as he did five years ago, you can expect his team to utilize a lot of Facebook ads. Currently, most of Trump’s Facebook promotions focus on his upcoming appearances and campaign donations. But in past elections, he used Facebook and Instagram to target specific groups with provocative statements to spark voter response.
This move by Meta may not seem like a major change, but it’s significant in the larger context. It will be interesting to see how the Donald Trump campaign uses Facebook and Instagram promotions in the coming months.
