Platforms are rapidly removing Donald Trump’s account or accounts affiliated with violence and pro-Trump conspiracies like QAnon and #StoptheSteal.
Here is an execution list:
REDDIT:
- WHAT: Reddit banned the subreddit group “r / DonaldTrump”, a spokesman confirmed to Axios on Friday.
- COMMENT: “The policies of the entire Reddit website prohibit content that promotes hatred or encourages, glorifies, incites or calls for violence against groups of people or individuals. Accordingly, we have proactively sought out moderators to remind them of our policies and offer support or resources as needed, “a spokesman told Axios.
- CONTEXT: While not an official group or page hosted by the president, it is one of the company’s largest political communities dedicated to supporting President Trump.
MUSCULAR CONTRACTION:
- WHAT: Twitch deactivated the Trump channel, citing the change as a “necessary step” to protect his community and “prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence.”
- COMMENT: “In light of yesterday’s shocking attack on Capitol Hill, we have disabled President Trump’s Twitch channel. Given the current extraordinary circumstances and the incendiary rhetoric of the president, we believe that this is a necessary step to protect our community and prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence, “said a spokesman for Axios.
- CONTEXT: Twitch was one of the first platforms in June to temporarily ban the Trump channel for hateful content around the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer.
SHOPIFY:
- WHAT: Shopify took down two online stores affiliated with Trump – his organization and his campaign merchandise websites – for violating its policies to support violence.
- COMMENT: “Shopify does not tolerate actions that encourage violence. Based on recent events, we have determined that President Donald J. Trump’s actions violate our Acceptable Use Policy, which prohibits the promotion or support of organizations, platforms or people who threaten or tolerate violence against one more cause. As a result, we have closed stores affiliated with President Trump. “- a spokesman said The Financial Times.
- CONTEXT: Until Friday, Shopify was the one that most outdated the Trump platform, as its stores were permanently removed, not temporarily disabled.
TWITTER:
- WHAT: Twitter announced on Friday that the platform will be permanently banned President Trump account effective immediately.
- COMMENT: “After a detailed analysis of the recent tweets from @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement to violence, “said Twitter in a statement.
- CONTEXT: It is Twitter’s strongest action against the president’s account and comes in response to the “risk of further incitement to violence,” according to the social media company.
GOOGLE:
- WHAT: Google withdrew Parler, a social media app for conservatives and far-right extremists.
- COMMENT: “To protect user safety on Google Play, our longstanding policies require that apps that display user-generated content have moderation and enforcement policies that remove blatant content, such as posts that incite violence,” said a spokesman Of google.
- CONTEXT: Google’s decision immediately suspends Parler, going beyond Apple’s previous decision to remove the app, unless it submits a content moderation plan.
YOUTUBE:
- WHAT: YouTube is accelerating the application of false electoral information and claims of electoral fraud against Trump and other channels.
- COMMENT: “Due to the extraordinary events that occurred yesterday, and given that the election results have been certified, any channel that posts new videos with these false allegations in violation of our policies will receive a warning, a penalty that temporarily restricts live streaming or transmission. Channels that receive three strikes in the same 90-day period will be permanently removed from YouTube, “Alex Joseph, a YouTube spokesman, told Axios.
- CONTEXT: YouTube is often slow to take action on content and bad accounts. His response, while swift, was somewhat benign compared to competitors removing or disabling Trump’s account. YouTube removed the video Trump posted on Wednesday that addressed violence on Capitol Hill without fully condemning it.
FACEBOOK:
- WHAT: Facebook has banned Donald Trump from posting to his Facebook accounts for at least the next two weeks until the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden is complete.
- COMMENT: “We believe that the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great, “said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a post on Thursday.
- CONTEXT: On Wednesday, Facebook removed the video that Trump posted on Wednesday addressing violence without fully condemning it before taking more intense action against Trump on Thursday.
INSTAGRAM:
- WHAT: Instagram has banned Donald Trump from posting to his Facebook accounts for at least the next two weeks until the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden is complete.
- COMMENT: “We believe that the risks of allowing the president to continue using our service during this period are simply too great, “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Thursday.
- CONTEXT: On Wednesday, Facebook, the father of Instagram, removed the video that Trump posted addressing the violence without fully condemning him before taking more intense action against Trump on Thursday.
SNAPCHAT:
- WHAT: Snapchat disabled Trump’s Snapchat account on Wednesday because he believes the account promotes and spreads hatred and incites violence, a spokesman said.
- COMMENT: “We can confirm that earlier today we blocked President Trump’s Snapchat account,” Snap spokeswoman Rachel Racusen told Axios.
- CONTEXT: Snapchat was one of the first major social platforms to take serious action against Trump’s account for threats to democracy in June, when the company said it stopped promoting its account in the “Discover” section, which features professional content and other important people.
TIKTOK:
- WHAT: TikTok is removing content violations and redirecting hashtags like #stormthecapitol and #patriotparty to community guidelines.
- COMMENT: “Hate behavior and violence have no place in TikTok. Content or accounts that seek to incite, glorify or promote violence violate our Community Guidelines and will be removed,” said a TikTok spokesman.
- CONTEXT: Other hashtags like #stopthesteal and #QAnon have been redirected since last year.
APPLE:
- WHAT: Apple on Friday threatened to remove Parler, a right-wing social media app, from its App Store if Parler does not come up with a plan to moderate its content.
- COMMENT: “We received numerous complaints about objectionable content on your Parler service, allegations that the Parler app was used to plan, coordinate and facilitate illegal activities in Washington DC on January 6, 2021 that led (among other things) to loss of life, numerous injuries and property destruction, “Apple wrote to Parler in an email obtained by BuzzFeed News.” The app also appears to continue to be used to plan and facilitate even more illegal and dangerous activities. “
- CONTEXT: Apple is exercising its power to try to get Parler to moderate its content.
DISCORD:
- WHAT: Discord says he banned The Donald server for journalist Casey Newton.
- COMMENT: “While there is no evidence that the server is being used to organize the January 6 riots, Discord decided to ban the entire server today due to its open connection to an online forum used to incite violence and plan an armed uprising in the United States “by Mother Jones’ Ali Breland.
- CONTEXT: The Discord account was connected to the pro-Trump social network TheDonald.Win and the subreddit r / theDonald which was banned on Friday.
PINTEREST:
- WHAT: Pinterest has been limiting hashtags related to pro-Trump topics like #StopTheSteal since the November election, a spokesman said.
- COMMENT: “Pinterest is not a place for threats, violence or hateful content,” said a Pinterest spokesman. “Our team continues to monitor and remove harmful content, including incorrect information and conspiracy theories that can incite violence.”
- CONTEXT: Trump doesn’t have a Pinterest account, and the platform tried to stay away from political content, but Pinterest was not able to crack down completely.
The end result: Trump is rapidly losing access to all platforms where he previously could spread his message freely, but groups of his supporters will still be able to meet online.