Read Mark Zuckerberg's Statement That Facebook Is Restricting Donald Trump's Account Indefinitely
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday that President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts would be blocked "for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete." The decision came nearly a day after a pro-Trump mob laid siege to the US Capitol.
Trump, who has 35 million followers on Facebook, told his supporters in a video posted on the platform on Wednesday to go home but also falsely claimed the election had been stolen from him. He later sent out a post telling supporters to "remember this day forever." These posts were both deleted by the social network.
"His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world," Zuckerberg wrote.
The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, January 7, 2021
Wednesday evening, Facebook said Trump would be blocked for 24 hours following his controversial posts.
Trump's favorite social media platform, Twitter, suspended the president for at least 12 hours and warned it may do so permanently if violations continued.
Sacha Baron Cohen, one of Facebook's biggest critics, hailed Facebook's decision, quipping "FINALLY."
Some felt it was interesting that the social network's move came the same day that Democrats were gaining chairmanship of committees that would regulate their actions.
