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Facebook Politics

Trump's Facebook Ban Should Not Be Lifted, Network's Oversight Board Rules (theguardian.com) 328

Donald Trump's Facebook account should not be reinstated, the social media giant's oversight board said on Wednesday, barring an imminent return to the platform. From a report: However, the board has punted the final decision over Trump's account back to Facebook itself, suggesting the platform make a decision in six months regarding what to do with Trump's account and whether it will be permanently deleted. Facebook suspended Trump's account after the Capitol attack of 6 January, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed Congress in an attempt to overturn the former president's defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Trump was initially suspended from Facebook and Instagram for 24 hours, as a result of two posts shared to the platform in which he appeared to praise the actions of the rioters. The company then extended the president's ban "at least until the end of his time in office." His account was suspended indefinitely pending the decision of the oversight board, a group of appointed academics and former politicians meant to operate independently of Facebook's corporate leadership.
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Trump's Facebook Ban Should Not Be Lifted, Network's Oversight Board Rules

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  • by dmay34 ( 6770232 ) on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @11:30AM (#61350324)

    Love him or hate him, Trump brings in money from vultures that want to capitalize on people's anger. And Trump is great at making people angry. This is why he wasn't banned from anything until after he left office, and why, even now, network TV news still report on his every little activity.

    Trump's accounts will be reinstated soon enough because advertisers like racists money just as much as anti-racist's money.

    • Trump's accounts will be reinstated soon enough because advertisers like racists money just as much as anti-racist's money.

      How much money are they getting from him directly? How affluent are overt racists? Also, if you proudly define yourself as an anti-racist to anyone who didn't ask, I'd guess you don't have much going on in your life either.

      Facebook's business model gets a lot more revenue from the general community...sharing baby photos, local events, etc. I don't think political junkies bring in too much money. If someone is at home spending hours fuming in his basement about AOC or Trump or Cruz or Pelosi...how m

      • by sinij ( 911942 )

        Trump's accounts will be reinstated soon enough because advertisers like racists money just as much as anti-racist's money.

        How much money are they getting from him directly?

        Excellent question. CNN and MSNBC post-Trump ratings are down 50%+ , while FB isn't exactly like cable TV, it is non-trivial amount.

    • You're not wrong. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Gravis Zero ( 934156 )

      Love him or hate him, Trump brings in money from vultures that want to capitalize on people's anger. And Trump is great at making people angry. This is why he wasn't banned from anything until after he left office, and why, even now, network TV news still report on his every little activity.

      You're absolutely correct about this part. However, there are other things to consider, specifically, the cost of having him on a platform.

      Firstly, the amount of mis/disinformation on the platform spiked as a result of the things he has said. This has a real expense because it means workers have to mark posts as "this is bullshit" but in polite terms. The result of doing this causes Republicans to recoil and cry censorship which causes the specter of regulations to pop up as well as slowly drains people

    • Love him or hate him, Trump brings in money from vultures that want to capitalize on people's anger.

      Don't overinflate Trump's ego. People who can fuel rage are dime a dozen. Stupidity, clickbait and bullshit was on Facebook long before anyone gave a shit about Trump, they will still be floating around media in whatever form long after Trump is gone.

      You don't need a Trump account to make money, the shit he brings with him and which makes him valuable is common place.

  • No biggie (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @11:30AM (#61350326)

    He just started his own twitter clone at http://www.donaldjtrump.com/ [donaldjtrump.com] and talks about freedom of speech. Curiously though comments are not allowed...

  • I was really worried the board might say "Democracy survived this bout and is probably good for another! Who wants to buy ads in DEMOCRACY VS TRUMP, ROUND 2? Rageclicks here, get yer rageclick ad views!"

    • Re:Phew (Score:4, Interesting)

      by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @11:37AM (#61350386) Journal

      I have some sincere doubts about democracy in the US in 2024. The Republicans seem to have taken the position that 2020 is the last time that Republican lawmakers in Congress will ever certify a Democratic Presidential winner, and with at least a good likelihood that they'll control both houses of Congress in 2024, it means they'll disenfranchise any swing state that goes to the Democratic nominee. Even as their base shrinks, their Evangelical allies watch their pews empty, between ever more blatant gerrymandering and vote suppression, and GOP lawmakers willing to use the normally procedural certification process as an effective veto, what real hope does any Democratic presidential candidate have in the future?

      • Re:Phew (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Midnight_Falcon ( 2432802 ) on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @11:47AM (#61350440)
        Your comments, while scary, are quite valid and point to a breakdown of institutions in the US. "American Exceptionalism" in political science often refers to how the US constitution when exported creates a dictatorship, because it is so easy to expand the presidency's power if you're willing to trample over norms. Now that the GOP is obsessed with essentially hacking the vote, whether it be by gerrymandering, voter suppression or otherwise; we're seeing a breakdown of those institutions much like the Latin American nations who tried the US model.

        Countries successfully democratizing ended up on a 5th republic French constitution style unicameral parlimentarian republic, with voting methods such as the single transferable vote ensuring the surface area for politicians' shenanigans are minimal.

      • Threaten to donate to their primary challengers of they don't support ending the filibuster and passing a new voting rights act. Make good on those threats if need be.
      • Substantive comment that showed up for the moderation, but the Subject reeked like the proverbial big dog's m0e. I think the distant perspective may give you some clarity?

        I wish I could assuage your doubts, but per my other comment about the uncivil war, I think the nation (and the world) will not benefit from the victory of either the GQP or the Trumplicans. In the end, what it comes down to is that the rich and selfish bastards that are controlling these things are confident that they can always grab the

        • by shanen ( 462549 )

          I previewed that more than once, and I thought carefully.

          s/perfectly positions/perfectly positioned/

          *sigh*

      • I'm so tired of people claiming all this stuff with Trump some how heralds the end of our democracy (...and for the record I think he was a terrible president). A simple modern US history class would show you that our country has been through and done far worse.

        For instance the voting laws being passed in some states are worrisome but guess what! They were much worse just 50 years ago which is well within the lifetime of many of our citizens.

        But sure, it's your right to be a paranoid or drama queen but just

  • Who? (Score:5, Funny)

    by battingly ( 5065477 ) on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @11:35AM (#61350364)
    The name sounds familiar, but all I can remember is that it has a vague unpleasant connotation.
  • Now we know why there are so many muslim terrorists trying to attack America: They only want Fecebook to leave them alone!

  • Good (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @12:56PM (#61350872)
    If he had just accepted his loss like a man the Jan 6th riots could've been avoided. I'm also concerned about him spreading anti vaxx propaganda of the "just asking questions" variety as he has a history of that.

    He's repeatedly shown he didn't care about effects his words have so long as he can keep donations coming in and some political power in the GOP. He's an actual, real threat to public safety and as Facebook I wouldn't want to do business with him either.

    And yes, this is Facebook making a business decision. It has nothing to do with censorship or free speech. The first amendment goes both ways and Facebook has a right to decide what they allow on their platform. Common carrier doesn't apply and they're not a publisher. That's why made new laws, e.g. section 230 of the CDA. New tech needs new rules or it dies. Time to decide if actual freedom matters more to us than letting Trump back on FB and Twitter
    • by bungo ( 50628 )

      I'm sure the riots would have been avoided as well if he took it like a woman, or like a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

  • We will know more when he finishes his 2000-room palace with a Hall of Mirrors holding the new Facebook Constitution, in which the rights remaining to peasants will be enumerated.

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