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Trump's account in Twitter permanently banned fearing further risk of violence incitement

Trump's account in Twitter permanently banned fearing further risk of violence incitement

Due to the risk of further incitement of violence, Twitter Inc has permanently suspended U.S. President Donald Trump's account on Friday following the incited storming of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. It was the first time in history Twitter has suspended a head of state.

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” the company said in a tweet.

The suspension of Trump's account, which had more than 88 million followers, silences him days before the end of his term and follows years of debate about how social media companies should moderate the accounts of global leaders.

Social media companies have moved swiftly to crack down on Trump and some of his prominent right-wing allies and supporters in the wake of the turmoil in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, which led to five deaths.

Trump has repeatedly used Twitter and other platforms to claim his defeat in the Nov. 3 election was due to widespread voter fraud and to share other conspiracy theories, and had urged supporters to come to Washington on Wednesday and march on the Capitol to protest the election result.

In a blog post on Friday, Twitter said that two of the president's tweets posted that day were in violation of its policy against the glorification of violence.

Twitter had temporarily blocked Trump's account on Wednesday following the siege of Capitol Hill, and warned that additional violations by the president's accounts would result in a permanent suspension.

After deleting some rule-breaking tweets, the president returned to Twitter on Thursday with a video acknowledging that Biden would be the next U.S. president.

However, Twitter said that Trump's tweet that he would not be attending Biden's inauguration was being received by a number of his supporters as confirmation that the November election was not legitimate.

The company said that another tweet mentioning “American Patriots” and saying his supporters “will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” could be seen as “further indication that President Trump does not plan to facilitate an orderly transition” on 20 January

Critics of major social media platforms, including top Democratic politicians, praised Twitter's move and said it was long overdue, while Trump supporters expressed outrage.

With information from Reuters.