Trump and social media: Bittersweet journey of the former President

Former US President Donald Trump has seen a rocky road when it comes to maintaining his presence on social media platforms. Days before leaving the White House in January 2021, Trump faced a severe backlash from multiple such platforms following his alleged role in inciting violence in the January 6 riots at the US Capitol.

The following social media platforms imposed restrictions on the former President:

1) Twitter

Twitter was one of the first social media platforms which took action against Trump after the violence in the US Capitol complex. Primarily, the restrictions were temporary, however, a little over a month later Twitter banished the Republican President indefinitely. The platform further said that the ban would not be lifted even if he decided to run for office again.

2) Facebook

Facebook recently extended its ban on Trump’s account for two years and said that Trump violated the platform’s policies and deserved the maximum punishment for the act. Facebook added that politicians will not be given immunity against such acts.

3) YouTube 

In January, YouTube said in a statement that Trump’s official account, which had nearly 3 million subscribers, on the video-based platform will be suspended due to his alleged involvement in the Capitol violence. However, experts believe that YouTube is Trump’s best bet to regain access to conventional social media.

4)  Twitch

The streaming platform banned the former President after the Capitol violence in order to prevent him from streaming. Initially, no time frame was given for the ban. However, the ban was made “indefinite” a few weeks later.

Other platforms which have restricted Trump from reaching out to the masses include Pinterest, Spotify and Snapchat among others.  Along with Trump, multiple other allies and aides have also been restricted from such platforms.