Twitter, Facebook muzzle Trump amid Capitol violence

Trump speaking at a rally on Jan 6, 2021, in Washington. Trump has harnessed social media – especially Twitter – as a potent tool for spreading misinformation about the election, and Wednesday’s riot only increased calls to ban him from the platform. — AP

In an unprecedented step, Facebook and Twitter suspended US President Donald Trump from posting to their platforms Wednesday following the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters.

Twitter locked Trump out of his account for 12 hours and said that future violations by Trump could result in a permanent suspension. The company required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets, including a short video in which he urged those supporters to “go home” while also repeating falsehoods about the integrity of the presidential election. Trump’s account deleted those posts, Twitter said; had they remained, Twitter had threatened to extend his suspension.