After a careful review of recent tweets of the @realDonaldTrump account and the context surrounding it, we permanently suspended the account because of the risk of inciting violence, Twitter said.
In the context of this week’s horrific events, we made it clear on Wednesday that further Twitter violations could possibly lead to the same action.
Twitter’s decision follows two tweets from Trump on Friday afternoon, which were his last. According to Twitter, the tweets conflict with the company’s policy against the glorification of violence, and both tweets should be read in the context of broader national events and how the president’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including incitement to violence, as well as in the context of the account’s behavioral pattern in recent weeks.
The first tweet was about Trump’s supporters.
The 75,000,000 great American patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN will have a HIGH vote in the future. You will not be insulted or treated unfairly in any way !!!!.
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The second pointed out that Trump had no intention of attending Joe Biden’s inauguration.
To anyone who asked: I won’t be at the opening on the 20th. January is fine.
According to Twitter, the tweet about the inauguration can be seen as another explanation that the elections are not legitimate. He also said the tweet could be interpreted as an acquisition, and said the inauguration would be a safe target for violence because he would not be present.
Another statement from Trump about American patriots suggests that he intends to continue to support, strengthen and protect those who believe he won the election, according to Twitter.
The Twitter ban is specifically aimed at the @realDonaldTrump account, not at Trump personally.
Twitter will enforce its policy of bypassing the ban to ensure that Trump does not bypass the suspension of his personal account, the company told CNN.
If it is clear that another account is being used to bypass the ban, that account may also be suspended, Twitter said in a statement. For public accounts such as @POTUS and @WhiteHouse we will not block these accounts, but will take steps to limit their use. However, these accounts will in due course be transferred to the new administration and will not be suspended by Twitter, unless absolutely necessary to limit the actual damage.
The Twitter policy also prohibits Trump from allowing a third party to manage the Twitter account on its behalf.
Trump tried to review the policy of bypassing the Twitter ban around 8:30 p.m. Friday night when he, or someone acting on his behalf, posted four tweets from his @POTUS account.
As I’ve been saying for some time, Twitter has gone further in banning free speech, and tonight the Twitter staff agreed with the Democrats and the radical left to remove my account from their platform, silencing me, tweeted Trump.
The tweets disappeared almost immediately.
Civil rights activists, who have long criticised technological platforms for spreading hatred and division, welcomed Twitter’s decision.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called it a grand gesture.
A fitting end to the legacy of the outburst of hatred and vitriol, Greenblatt said. President Trump unleashed violent riots on Capitol Hill through social media and paid the price.
Eric Naing, a spokesman for the Muslim lawyers, said Twitter shows real leadership.
As Twitter notes, if Trump continues to send tweets, Facebook messages and YouTube videos to his white nationalist supporters, he risks inciting more violence, Naing said. It is now up to Facebook and Google/YouTube to follow Twitter.
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