"Objectively speaking, Donald Trump violated the rules that were laid out for him when he signed up for the app. That’s why he was banned, not because Twitter disagrees with him." -- Joaquin Montes de Oca, 8th Grade
Between his first tweet in May of 2009 and his last one in January of 2021, Donald Trump has made 59,553 tweets. Let’s take a look at the actual tweets that got the 45th P.O.T.U.S. banned from twitter and whether or not there is any basis to the claim that this has anything to do with the first amendment.
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said in an announcement on January 8th, two days after the Capitol riot.
The Rules of Twitter clearly state that inciting or glorifying violence are easily bannable offenses, saying, “Violence: You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence. Learn more about our violent threat and glorification of violence policies.” So which of the president’s final tweets actually violated this?
In Twitter’s aforementioned announcement, they included two tweets from the president describing them as, “highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
The tweets were as follows:
“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
And:
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
Twitter added that, “Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks. After assessing the language in these Tweets against our Glorification of Violence policy, we have determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service.”
Twitter’s ban of the president worked to fan the flames of conservatives who believe they are being silenced and censored on social media. Despite the countless studies proving otherwise, a few of which are here, here, here and here. Objectively speaking, Donald Trump violated the rules that were laid out for him when he signed up for the app. That’s why he was banned, not because Twitter disagrees with him.
As a matter of fact, Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey tweeted soon after the suspension seeming hesitant. Or maybe just to placate the over 88 million Twitter users who support the former president.
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said in an announcement on January 8th, two days after the Capitol riot.
The Rules of Twitter clearly state that inciting or glorifying violence are easily bannable offenses, saying, “Violence: You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence. Learn more about our violent threat and glorification of violence policies.” So which of the president’s final tweets actually violated this?
In Twitter’s aforementioned announcement, they included two tweets from the president describing them as, “highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
The tweets were as follows:
“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
And:
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
Twitter added that, “Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks. After assessing the language in these Tweets against our Glorification of Violence policy, we have determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service.”
Twitter’s ban of the president worked to fan the flames of conservatives who believe they are being silenced and censored on social media. Despite the countless studies proving otherwise, a few of which are here, here, here and here. Objectively speaking, Donald Trump violated the rules that were laid out for him when he signed up for the app. That’s why he was banned, not because Twitter disagrees with him.
As a matter of fact, Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey tweeted soon after the suspension seeming hesitant. Or maybe just to placate the over 88 million Twitter users who support the former president.
Since then, Donald Trump pages, accounts, hashtags and apps have been dropping like flies including Reddit, Google, Parler, Twitch, Shopify, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok, Apple, Discord, Pinterest, Stripe, Okta and Twilio.