After the recent vandalization of Capitol Hill by a certain mob, Facebook, Twitter, and others decided to ban the President on online platforms. While Twitter has unblocked the President, Donald Trump Facebook ban will continue indefinitely.
While you may be aware of the reasons for this fiasco, I’ll give a brief outline before we move further. President Trump delivered a speech at his ‘Save America’ rally at Ellipse park, near Capitol Hill, just hours before the Capitol Hill Siege. If you listen to Trump’s speech, he incited people to march towards the Capitol.
What happened next is what you’re reading in the headlines. A crowd of Trump supporters broke into Capitol Hill, vandalizing the place for the second time in American history.
The Second Siege Of Capitol Hill
You might not know this, but the Capitol faced a similar event back in August 1814. At that time, the British were at war with the U.S. to gain back control. That’s when the first Capitol Hill Siege happened. Now, we’ve come a long way from that era and from that time. Such a long way that the very people of the U.S. tried to bring down the Hill this time.
Donald Trump Facebook Ban
Right after headlines of police clashing with the rioters/protestors, Twitter decided to ban Donald Trump, followed by Facebook. While he’s back on Twitter, for now, his Facebook account will remain suspended until the transition of power to Joe Biden.
The ban has been appreciated by many, but there are also those who say it’s too little too late for that. It is so because we saw Trump claiming the election to be rigged, way before it even started. Social media enabled Donald Trump’s unfiltered thoughts and words to reach the American audience.
Another angle is that the platforms waited for the electoral college to complete. The ban came only after the electoral college was disrupted right before it approved the Democrats’ win. By the time the bans came into effect, both lives and property were lost.
What Happened
All social media platforms, especially Facebook and Twitter were used by Donald Trump to address his followers. Everyone, from the Republican party, the president’s advisors, and his social media team cashed in on his following. However, if you look at just about any tweet from the president, a majority of comments are people fact-checking or bashing Trump.
What happened is that the sheer volume of engagements on his posts, be it positive or negative, led his supporters to even more firmly believe in him. The saying “there’s no negative publicity” went in favor of Trump since day one of his presidency. This is where social media companies let the people down by entertaining Trump despite the countless number of fact-checks.
What Should’ve Happened
It was the responsibility of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others to filter the speeches, or at least get the fact checks in place a lot earlier. Twitter was the first to fact-check Trump back in May, and it resulted in the Republican senate hounding Facebook and Twitter. Trump neither took responsibility for his posts nor did he keep the dignity of his position by using social media to demean others.
Both social media platforms only applied fact checks to Donald Trump’s posts. The biggest joke, which isn’t even funny, is that Trump’s account remained active after two months of ‘disputed claim’ labels on almost every tweet he made. Neither Twitter nor Facebook took the effort to actually stop the lying, despite pointing out the President’s posts as lies.
A much earlier fact-check would’ve given social media a solid ground in case Trump decided to take it to them with a lawsuit. The sad reality is that the fact checks came in only during the last two months of his presidency. Had social media treated Trump just as they treat anybody spreading misinformation, this day could’ve been avoided.
Against The American Dream
Lastly, what makes the crowd that vandalized the Capitol more dangerous is what we saw in there. There were many among the rioters wearing 6MWE t-shirts, which means 6 million (jews) werent enough. Some others were scene with “Camp Auschwitz” t-shirts, mixing with a crowd wearing the “keep America great” clothes.
With such levels of insensitivity towards events which have historical evidence, this crowd was supporting someone who had no shred of it. Another reason why Twitter and Facebook should’ve banned Trump long ago, along with other posts that demand people to disrespect other people.
The post Trump Facebook Ban: What Happened vs What Should’ve Happened appeared first on Fossbytes.
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