More headache for Donald Trump as Facebook, Instagram bans POTUS after US Capitol riot

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook has announced that President Donald Trump would be banned from using Facebook and Instagram “indefinitely” following a pro-Trump attack on the US Capitol on Wednesday.

Recall that the tech giants blocked his accounts temporarily on Wednesday following Trump’s posting on content that incited his followers to violence.

According to Zuckerberg, the ban will not be lifted until the peaceful transition of power is complete.

“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.

“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.

“Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete,” Zuckerberg wrote.

Facebook’s suspension marks the most aggressive penalty that any social media company has meted out to Trump over his four-year term,a period in which he has repeatedly peddled falsehoods, attacked critics and spread divisive rhetoric online.

As Trump-supporters invaded the Capitol on Wednesday, Facebook removed a video from Trump responding to the violence. In it, Trump made false claims about the 2020 election results, and told rioters to “go home” hours after the initial invasion began. Facebook cycled through three different labels on the video before the platform decided to remove it outright around an hour after it was posted.

“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. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect and likely their intent would be to provoke further violence,” Zuckerberg said in his Thursday statement.