Page 4 - aruba-today-20210108

A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 8 January 2021
Social platforms flex their power, lock down Trump accounts

By DAVID KLEPPER and of four people.
MATT O'BRIEN While Trump told supporters
Associated Press that "you have to go home
After years of treating Presi- now," he also repeated
dent Donald Trump's in- false claims about voter
flammatory rhetoric with a fraud affecting the elec-
light touch, Facebook and tion. He then added: "We
Instagram are silencing his can't play into the hands of
social media accounts for these people. We have to
the rest of his presidency. have peace. So go home.
The move, which many We love you. You're very
called long overdue follow- special."
ing Wednesday's deadly in- Twitter, Facebook and You-
surrection at the U.S. Capi- Tube all said they removed
tol, is also a reminder of the video Wednesday, cit-
the enormous power that ing its misinformation or
social-media platforms can dangerous rhetoric.
wield when they choose. In a statement Thursday
Facebook and Instagram morning, Trump said there
said Thursday they will bar would be an "orderly tran-
Trump from posting at least sition on January 20th" and
until the inauguration of acknowledged defeat
President-elect Joe Biden. President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. in the election for the first
Twitter said Thursday that Associated Press time. His aides posted the
it's still evaluating whether statement on Twitter be-
to lift or extend what start- ful and lawful transition of rity of the election. That sus- White House on Thursday cause the president's ac-
ed as a 12-hour lockdown power to his elected suc- pension was set to expire morning was not immedi- count remained suspend-
of Trump's account. cessor, Joe Biden," Zucker- sometime Thursday; the ately returned. ed. Monica Stephens, a
It remains unclear how the berg wrote. president had not yet re- Twitter and Facebook both professor at the University
platforms will handle Trump Trump has repeatedly har- sumed tweeting as of late temporarily locked Trump's of Buffalo who studies so-
once he leaves office and nessed the power of social Thursday morning. accounts Wednesday, the cial media, said it made
is no longer shielded from media to spread false- A company spokesman most aggressive action ei- sense for Facebook and
enforcement of most rules hoods about election in- said the company could ther company has yet tak- Twitter to try lighter forms of
by his status as a world tegrity and the results of the take further action as well. en against the president, curbing misinformation in
leader. And some critics presidential race. Platforms "We're continuing to evalu- who more than a decade the months leading up to
saw the moves as cynical like Facebook have oc- ate the situation in real ago embraced the imme- the election. "They're get-
efforts by the companies casionally labeled or even time, including examining diacy and scale of Twitter ting flak from both sides of
to position themselves for a removed some of his posts, activity on the ground and to rally loyalists, castigate the political aisle," she said.
post-Trump future. but the overall response statements made off Twit- enemies and spread false Trump's ardent support-
"Mark Zuckerberg is enact- has failed to satisfy a grow- ter," the spokesman said. rumors. ers have flocked to Par-
ing this temporary suspen- ing number of critics who But the platforms contin- While some cheered the ler, GAB and other "free
sion not to protect our de- say the platforms have en- ued to face criticism from platforms' actions, experts speech" social media sites
mocracy but rather to pro- abled the spread of dan- users who blamed them, noted that the compa- that cater to conservative
tect Facebook's power and gerous misinformation. in part, for creating an on- nies' actions follow years voices. Some were used
profits," Rashad Robinson of In light of Wednesday's line environment that led to of hemming and hawing Wednesday by the people
Color of Change, a group riot, however, Zuckerberg Wednesday's violence. on the dangerous misinfor- who stormed the Capitol.
that has pushed tech com- said a more aggressive ap- "Today is the result of al- mation and violent rhetoric "Large amounts of the pop-
panies to do more to rein proach is needed. "The cur- lowing people with hate Trump and his supporters ulation and press were not
in hate speech, said in an rent context is now funda- in their hearts to use plat- have spread, contributing anticipating the violence
emailed statement. "Now mentally different, involving forms that should be used to Wednesday's violence. and the vitriol yesterday
that a Democratic majority use of our platform to incite to bring people together," The flashpoint on Wednes- because it was happen-
in the Senate is set, it's sud- violent insurrection against singer and actress Selena day was a video Trump ing behind closed doors of
denly convenient for Face- a democratically elected Gomez wrote on Twitter to posted on Twitter more Parler and Gab instead of
book to suspend Trump." government," he wrote. her 64 million followers. "You than two hours after pro- Facebook and Twitter," Ste-
In announcing the unprec- Instagram, which is owned have all failed the Ameri- testers entered the Capi- phens said. "If they entirely
edented move, Facebook by Facebook, will also can people today, and I tol, interrupting lawmakers shut out this type of speech
founder Mark Zuckerberg block Trump's ability to post hope you're going to fix meeting in an extraordi- it is still going to happen, it is
said the risk of allowing on its platform. YouTube, things moving forward." nary joint session to confirm just going to happen where
Trump to use the platform owned by Google, also Thomas Rid, a Johns Hop- the Electoral College results it isn't as read." Social me-
is too great following the announced more general kins cyberconflict scholar, and President-elect Joe dia companies, many of
president's incitement of a changes that will penalize tweeted "kudos and re- Biden's victory. which are already under
mob on Wednesday. Zuck- accounts spreading mis- spect" to Zuckerberg and Republican lawmakers and heightened government
erberg said Trump's ac- information about voter Facebook shortly after previous administration of- scrutiny over their business
count will be locked "for at fraud in the 2020 election, the announcement that ficials had begged Trump practices, "want to make
least the next two weeks" with repeat offenders fac- Trump's account would be to give a statement to his sure that people in power
and possibly indefinitely. ing permanent removal locked for two weeks. supporters to quell the vio- have a good view of them
"The shocking events of the from the platform. "Clearly the right move," Rid lence. He posted his video because they would like
last 24 hours clearly demon- Twitter locked President said. "Consistent incitement as authorities struggled to not to be regulated," said
strate that President Don- Donald Trump's accounts to political violence is not take control of a chaotic Shannon McGregor, an as-
ald Trump intends to use for 12 hours after he re- acceptable. Twitter should situation at the Capitol that sistant professor of journal-
his remaining time in office peatedly posted false ac- do so as well." led to the evacuation of ism and media at the Uni-
to undermine the peace- cusations about the integ- A message left with the lawmakers and the death versity of North Carolina.q