Trump supporters at the 'stop the steal' rally in Washington DC
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Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have locked Donald Trump’s accounts after hundreds of rioters stormed the US Capitol building in a last ditch effort to keep him as President.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, declared an “emergency situation” and removed Mr Trump’s ability to post on both of its services, while Twitter revoked his special protections as an elected world leader and said it would ban him if he broke its rules again.
Both companies were responding to posts and a video in which Mr Trump told his supporters to “go home” but praised them as “great patriots" and repeated he groundless claims about a "stolen" election that sparked the protests. YouTube also removed the video.
Facebook said: “We’ve assessed two policy violations against President Trump’s Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time.”
Twitter said: “As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington DC we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy.
“This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked. Future violations… will result in permanent suspension.”
It came amid extraordinary scenes in Washington, DC as Mr Trump’s supporters heeded his call to rally against the result of last year’s election. After a peaceful protest, a mob broke into the chamber where the US Senate had been officially certifying the results, causing Vice President Mike Pence and politicians to be evacuated and one person to be shot dead.
Facebook has banned all videos and photos from protesters on the basis that they would promote criminal activity, as well as all praise and support of the storming of the Capitol specifically.
pic.twitter.com/Pm2PKV0Fp3
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, condemned the violence, telling employees: "This is a dark moment in our nation’s history… I’m personally saddened by this mob violence, which is exactly what this is."
Yet both companies were criticised for being slow to act on Trump’s posts and videos. His call for peace came an almost hour after clashes broke out and only after calls from current and past officials, including former White House communications director Alyssa Farah.
Former Facebook executive Alex Stamos was one of many to call out Twitter and Facebook’s resistance to delete Mr Trump’s posts, saying that the time had come to "cut him off" as there were "no legitimate equities left and labelling won’t do it".
Late on Wednesday night, some videos and live streams taken by protesters were still live on Facebook and Instagram, as well as some that praised the violence.
Emerson Brooking, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Lab who monitors online extremism and disinformation, said: "Trump’s temporary ban is the result of an 8-month journey for social media platforms that began with Trump’s incitements to violence during the George Floyd demonstrations.
"Gradually, the platforms have gotten more comfortable taking direct action when the president violates their terms of service. But it is still absurd he has been given so many chances.
"Especially since November, he has used his platform almost exclusively to incite violence, spread conspiracy theories, and attack the foundations of American democracy. It is time for him to be removed from Twitter and Facebook for good."
Many critics have pointed to social media’s role in the political polarisation that is overwhelming the US.
The day of violence, condemned by both sides of the political spectrum, bore an uncanny resemblance to the toxic forums and private groups on Facebook that have been inundated with misinformation about vaccines, election fraud and political corruption over years running up to the election.
Via Getty, one the rioters steals a podium from the Capitol pic.twitter.com/V4spojl40q
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 6, 2021
Protesters could be seen wearing alt-right online icons like Pepe the Frog hats, Kekistan flags and paedophile warnings scrawled on cardboard signs. All are symbols of alt-right memes and conspiracy theories.
Footage from inside the Senate building showed those who broke in posing while reclining in Nancy Pelosi’s chair with their legs up on her desk.
One video showed a man wearing a Trump hat waving to cameras as he tried to walk out while holding a podium.
In pictures: Donald Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol Building
Another image showed a computer which allegedly claimed to be from an official’s office, where the computer was still on and an email warning of the siege and advice to evacuate had been left open.
There had long been speculation that Mr Trump’s accounts will be kicked off of mainstream social networks when he leaves office, as he will no longer be protected by the privilege of being an elected official and his tweets will be subject to the same policies as ordinary citizens.
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