Donald Trump's YouTube and Facebook accounts restored two years after suspension

Trump was restricted from posting videos on his account since the Capitol building protests on January 6, 2021, as YouTube and other social media platforms accused him of inciting violence.

Donald Trump's YouTube and Facebook accounts restored two years after suspension
MidJourney/Ian Miles Cheong
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Former US President Donald Trump's YouTube account has been reinstated, following the lifting of his Twitter ban by CEO Elon Musk and his unbanning from Facebook.

Trump was restricted from posting videos on his account since the Capitol building protests on January 6, 2021, as YouTube and other social media platforms accused him of inciting violence. "No longer restricted and the ability to upload new content is restored," YouTube Vice President of Public Policy Leslie Miller confirmed in a statement to Axios.

Miller explained that the decision was based on a careful evaluation of the continued risk of real-world violence, balanced against the importance of allowing voters to hear from major national candidates.

YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, will not restore videos removed from Trump's account after January 6. As a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Trump will now be allowed to purchase YouTube advertisements.

Social media firms, including Meta, which controls Facebook and Instagram, have also lifted previous suspensions on Trump. Meta ended Trump's suspension two months ago, describing it as an "extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances." The company pledged to enforce "certain guardrails" on Trump's future activity.

Posting on Facebook, Trump made his first post in two years, writing, “I'M BACK.”

Content moderators defended the decision, maintaining that they did not want to interfere in election debates and that the move was approved by an oversight board.

Meta stated that Trump would face "heightened penalties for repeat offenses" for past behavior on the platforms, a policy that will also apply to other public figures reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk reinstated Trump at the end of last year after conducting an informal survey with his followers. Despite this, Trump, who founded the social media company Truth Social after leaving office, announced that he would not return to Twitter, even if Musk were to reinstate his account. Trump is contractually required to post all content to Truth Social and wait six hours before sharing it on other platforms.

Trump has over 2.6 million subscribers on YouTube, while his Twitter account boasts around 87.4 million followers.

Musk previously stated that his acquisition of Twitter aimed to create a "common digital town square" for debating a wide range of beliefs without resorting to violence. He expressed a desire to avoid promoting radical content and promised that the social media platform would not become a lawless "free-for-all hellscape" or devolve into "echo chambers."

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