Accountable Tech Statement on Meta’s Decision to Reinstate Donald Trump

For Immediate Release
January 25, 2023
Contact: press@accountabletech.org

Two years after using Facebook to incite an insurrection against the United States government, Trump is invited to return to the platform

Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director Nicole Gill released the following statement Wednesday:

“Today, Meta chose to put its own profits above American democracy and the real-world safety of its users.

“I want to be very clear: there is absolutely no justification for allowing Donald Trump back on Facebook. Two years ago, Meta said it would only reinstate Trump if his presence on the platform no longer carried a threat of violence. Today’s decision reveals that promise for what it was: another empty publicity stunt by a company more concerned with making money than with democracy, safety, or even internal consistency.

“This is a man who used the platform to incite a deadly insurrection against the United States – and whose behavior has only gotten more dangerous in the years since. Trump has repeatedly used Truth Social to fuel violence, spread election lies, and promote domestic terrorist organizations like QAnon. Free speech doesn’t guarantee the privilege of a Facebook log-in – especially for someone who tried to overthrow the government.

“Trump has built a tinderbox of civil unrest. Today, Mark Zuckerberg handed him back the match.”

Background on Accountable Tech’s work to prevent Trump’s reinstatement:

Accountable Tech and Media Matters for America relaunched “Keep Trump Off Facebook,” a campaign urging Meta to adhere to its own safety standards and uphold Facebook’s current ban on Donald Trump. The campaign included a six-figure digital and TV ad buy outlining the harms of Trump’s potential reinstatement, along with a letter to Meta urging the company to uphold its ban of Donald Trump signed by over two dozen advocacy groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center, GLAAD, and Center for American Progress.
Accountable Tech released new research finding that more than 350 posts from Donald Trump’s “Truth Social” account – the equivalent of two posts per day – would directly violate Facebook’s Community Standards. Key findings include:
- 116 posts amplifying followers and sympathizers of QAnon – the violent, anti-semitic conspiracy movement tied to real-world violence and insurrection, labeled by Facebook as a dangerous and militarized social movement and banned on the platform in October 2020.
- 239 posts containing harmful election-related disinformation meant to undermine the integrity of U.S. elections and American democracy.
- Repeated violations of Facebook’s standards that prohibit harassment against marginalized groups, including racial minorities and the transgender community.
- Trump amplified QAnon-related accounts and content 65 times and pushed false claims of election fraud 30 times in the week following the 2022 midterm elections.

Learn more here: KeepTrumpOffFacebook.com

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