Extension of Trump’s Facebook Ban

Warranted Punishment or Impingement on Freedom of Expression

Earlier this week the decision was taken by Facebook and their Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to address the current temporary ban on Former President of the United States Donald Trump. This decision was made after a chaotic start to the year and numerous years of usage of social media platforms to further his political aims. During the 2016 Presidential election and the following four years of the Trump administration, President Trump made use of Twitter in particular in order to connect with his voter base and make sure that his supporters felt their needs were being addressed.

While this may seem like a revolutionary usage of the platform, one which brought a swift uptake in support for the then president, it also brought out the darker side in the Former President’s personality. He would often retweet conspiracy theories from alt-right websites making dubious and often unsubstantiated claims, making attacks on other public and political figures alongside the mainstream media, and further adding to the political divisions of the United States. This came during a period in which the nation has not been this polarised since the Civil Rights movement and the Civil War before it.