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| A screenshot from Trump's online 'desk' |
Former US President Donald Trump is back online – seemingly. Just few months after being banned by most social media giants, he is now using a “desk” run through his campaign website to post content resembling his trademark tweets.
“From the desk of Donald J. Trump,” revealed Tuesday, is a page that looks very much like the 45th president’s Twitter account – from which he was banned in January.
A promotional video pinned to the top of the feed declares it a “beacon of freedom” and a “place to speak freely and safely.”
From that description, one might think the “desk” is a social media platform for Americans purged by Big Tech – except it’s not. Currently, only Trump can use it to post comments, images and videos. It already contains the archive of statements he has issued since leaving office in January.
Posts from the “desk” can be shared on Twitter and Facebook, but there is no option to create one’s own account or leave a comment or reply.
It is unclear whether this is what Trump adviser Jason Miller had in mind when he told reporters in March that the former president would return online “with his own platform” that would “completely redefine the game.”
“This is just a one-way communication that allows Trump to communicate with his followers,” a source familiar with the space told Fox News, as quoted by RT.
Twitter’s justification for banning Trump from its platform while he was still a sitting President was that Trump’s tweets “and the context around them specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter” posed a “risk of further incitement of violence.”
Other social media platforms soon followed Twitter’s cue, and Trump was purged from Facebook and Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Facebook’s “oversight board” is expected to decide whether to let the former president back onto Mark Zuckerberg’s platform on Wednesday.
UPDATE - Trump Facebook Ban Upheld
The suspension of former President Donald Trump has been upheld by the Facebook Oversight Board, USA Today reports.
But the company-funded tribunal of outside experts ruled that it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose an "indeterminate and standardless penalty" of indefinite suspension and instructed the company to review the matter within six months, possibly opening the door to Trump's return.
It has also recommended that Facebook institute clear and proportionate policies "that promote public safety and respect freedom of expression."
Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs and communications, said Facebook would consider the board's decision and "determine an action that is clear and proportionate."
"In the meantime, Mr. Trump’s accounts remain suspended," Clegg said in a statement, as quoted by USA Today.
