In a new interview, Meta global affairs president Nick Clegg indicated that Facebook might end former President Donald Trump’s suspension in January without considering the accuracy of his content. Trump’s recent activity on Truth Social, along with his social media behavior before and since his suspension, shows that Trump would just use Facebook to push misinformation and extreme rhetoric to the platform’s large user base.
On September 22, Clegg, who is in charge of content moderation policy for the company, told Semafor editor-at-large Steve Clemons that Facebook could allow Trump back on the platform in January, emphasizing that the “accuracy or sentiment about” his content was not a “driving factor” in the decision:
Following the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol, Facebook suspended Trump’s ability to post on Facebook and Instagram, publicly citing his use of Facebook “to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.” Ultimately, Trump’s ban became an at least two-year suspension that could be lifted if Facebook decides “the risk to public safety has receded.” Clegg’s comments to Clemons suggest that the platform will likely lift the suspension in less than four months, ignoring Trump’s continued social media behavior and its real-world harm.
Since his Facebook suspension, Trump has continued to spread false claims of election fraud about the 2020 presidential election, including on his own platform, Truth Social.
While president, Trump had called Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to request changes to the Facebook Oversight Board, which was created to review company decisions and has the power to overrule them, The New Yorker reported last year.
Trump had 35 million followers on Facebook. His ban being lifted would be a benefit for any future campaigning, if he were to run for president again in 2024.
