The suspended Twitter account of US President Donald Trump
Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
After Twitter’s decision, Google suspended the pro-Trump social network Parler from the Android app store for failing to control mushrooming calls for violence, saying it would only be reinstated once it had added a "robust" moderation policy. Apple gave Parler 24 hours to implement a policy.
Twitter said: "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."
After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.https://t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021
Mr Trump, who had around 90 million followers and had used the platform as a springboard for his surprise victory in the 2015 Republican nomination contest and as a bully pulpit throughout his presidency, was removed with immediate effect.
Diplomacy in the age of Trump
Leaders of the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, which persuaded more than 1,000 companies to boycott Facebook last year and had called for a total Trump ban on Friday morning, hailed the decision and called for Facebook to follow suit.
Donald Trump Jr, the President’s youngest son, reacted with fury, comparing Twitter’s leadership to Mao Zeon, while his 2020 campaign aide Steve Cortes called the ban "a direct assault upon the United States – our way of life, constitution, and duly elected president".
In its explanation of the decision, Twitter cited two tweets made by Mr Trump on Friday. In the first, he said: “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
The second said simply noted that he would not be attending the inauguration of his victorious opponent Joe Biden on January 20, the first time any US president has done so in 152 years.
.@Facebook, @Twitter, @Google and other social media platforms must permanently remove @realDonaldTrump from their platforms because he will continue to incite violence and sow division even after he leaves office. #BanTrumpSaveDemocracy https://t.co/wni2SYMpM2
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 8, 2021
Those tweets, the San-Francisco-based social network said, were already being interpreted by Mr Trump’s most extreme supporters as a retraction of his promise on Thursday of an "orderly" handover, and a signal that the inauguration ceremony would be a "safe" target for further violence.
"Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021," Twitter said.
"As such, our determination is that the two tweets above are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021, and that there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so."
A spokesman added that it would also limit the use of the President’s governmental accounts, @POTUS and @WhiteHouse, if he tried to evade its ban. Sure enough, he briefly returned to issue one last broadside.
56,571 @realDonaldTrump tweets are archived herehttps://t.co/d97XK9Z8FE
he tweeted:
"fake news" 979 times
"rigged election" 93 times
"enemy of the people" 58 times
"witch hunt" 379 times
"impeachment hoax" 107 times
"I have the absolute right to PARDON myself" 1 time
— David P Gelles (@gelles) January 9, 2021
In now-deleted tweets, Mr Trump said he had been negotiating with other social networks to set up an alternative and would have a "big announcement soon", concluding with the message: "STAY TUNED!"
After another 45 minutes, the Team Trump campaign account also activated, replicating his words with the rider "Statement from President Trump" along with an image of Twitter’s logo sporting a hammer and sickle.
It is unknown whether the President has any further backup accounts.
The ban came just hours after Twitter’s bosses reportedly received "a beating" from employees at a morning meeting. Hundreds had signed a letter to chief executive Jack Dorsey asking him to eject Mr Trump.
However, some journalists criticised the company for deleting all 56,571 of the President’s past tweets, instantly removing them from thousands of articles which had digitally embedded them in order to report on them.
Calls for violence appeared to escalate on Friday evening. Screenshots from Parler showed users vowing to return to the Capitol before the inauguration and forcibly prevent Mr Biden from taking power.
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