PanamaTimes

Sunday, Jul 06, 2025

Pressure builds to keep Donald Trump off Facebook ahead of his possible reinstatement

Pressure builds to keep Donald Trump off Facebook ahead of his possible reinstatement

Trump's suspension could be lifted as soon as January, but Democratic lawmakers argue that he's still threatening public safety with misinformation.
Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning groups are pressuring Meta to keep Donald Trump off Facebook as the company weighs whether to reinstate his account as early as January.

They argue that the former president and current Republican presidential candidate shouldn't be allowed back on the platform because he continues to threaten public safety by spreading misinformation. Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended after the January 6, 2021, insurrection when a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol, hoping to overturn the 2020 election in his favor.

"On Facebook, he has a very large reach," said Kayla Gogarty, deputy research director of Media Matters for America. "Based on his current patterns, we're seeing him amplify extremism, problematic content that has been linked to real world violence."

Nearly half of Trump's posts and reposts on Truth Social in the week after the 2022 midterm elections pushed claims of election fraud and amplified QAnon accounts or content, according to December research from Media Matters. Another study by Accountable Tech found more than 350 of Trump's Truth Social posts would violate Facebook's safety guidelines.

"So if Meta allows him back on, it's essentially giving Trump a green light to push election misinformation again, dangerous rhetoric and extremism to millions of users who would not otherwise have access to it," Gogarty told Insider.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, tweeted "he's more unhinged and dangerous than ever."


Trump was suspended from Facebook for two years after praising the Capitol rioters. He had posted a video telling the mob, "We love you, you're very special," and asking them to go home.

Facebook removed some of his statements, but his page still remains frozen on January 6, 2021, serving as a chilling reminder of the violence on that day that led to five deaths. 

Posts that remain on the page show Trump exhorting his supporters to support law enforcement and be peaceful, but only after earlier posts in which he spread misinformation about voter fraud and accused his vice president, Mike Pence, of lacking courage for not taking action to overturn the election results.

Trump's spokespeople did not respond when asked whether he intends to return to Facebook if reinstated. Trump's Twitter suspension has lifted under its new owner Elon Musk, but Trump hasn't returned to the site. He has said prefers Truth Social.

Asked about Trump, a Meta spokesman pointed to a June 4, 2021, company statement, which said the company would consult with experts after the two-year suspension to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded. 

"When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr. Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts," the company statement says.

However, Facebook fact checkers were reportedly told they could not verify the facts and claims in his posts if Trump were a presidential candidate, which he now is.

The studies by Media Matters for America and Accountability Tech coincided with their relaunch of a "Keep Trump Off Facebook" campaign, which included a six-figure digital and TV ad buy. 

"His activity on Truth Social speaks to his potential activity if he's allowed back on some of these more mainstream platforms, like Facebook," Gogarty said.

Democratic members of Congress, meanwhile, are urging Meta to uphold Trump's suspension beyond January, arguing that the risk of violence persists. Schiff, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Reps. André Carson and Kathy Castor wrote a letter to Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs.

"Trump has continued to post harmful election content on Truth Social that would likely violate Facebook's policies, and we have every reason to believe he would bring similar conspiratorial rhetoric back to Facebook, if given the chance," the letter said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on EU Goods, Markets React
×