Former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were misreported by conservative social media influencers who claimed he was allowed access to use those social media platforms again.
Trump’s social media pages are only just visible, but the accounts are still frozen, users are still able to comment on his old posts. This wasn’t new news as pointed out by Harvard Law Lecturer, Evelyn Duke.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, has an independent committee called the Oversight Board, which wields the ability to undo Facebook’s content screening decisions.
In their decision, the board wrote, “Within six months of this decision, Facebook must reexamine the arbitrary penalty it imposed on Jan. 7 and decide the appropriate penalty. This penalty must be based on the gravity of the violation and the prospect of future harm. It must also be consistent with Facebook’s rules for severe violations, which must, in turn, be clear, necessary, and proportionate.”
Andy Stone, a communications manager for Facebook, wrote a tweet in response to the false claims saying, “He remains indefinitely suspended.”
Trump was originally banned from his social media accounts since January 7 after the January 6 Capitol Building Riot, where Facebook executives such as CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”
The last Facebook post from Trump’s account was calling for peace on the day of the riot.