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Facebook and Instagram ban President Donald Trump for two weeks

Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts will remain banned until the transfer of power to President-Elect Joe Biden is complete.

Donovan Erskine

January 7, 2021 8:39 AM

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On January 6, 2020, rioters illegally stormed the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. in an attempt to disrupt the official and final counting of the electoral votes that would confirm Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. These actions were sparked by vitriolic comments and allegations of fraud made by President Donald Trump via social media in the time following the election in November. With the likelihood that President Trump will use his final days in office to pedal more of this dangerous rhetoric, Facebook has announced that it will be banning the President's accounts until he officially leaves office in two weeks.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a statement to his own account on January 7, where he shared the news of the decision. “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,” the post reads. 

It’s here that Zuckerberg states that Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram will be blocked for the next two weeks, until he leaves office on January 20. “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.”

Following the attacks at the US Capitol on January 6, President Trump released a video on his social accounts where he encouraged rioters to leave peacefully and go home, but failed to properly condemn their actions, and even went as far as to double down on the idea that he was cheated out of the 2020 Presidential Election. 

While Trump’s Twitter account is still up, Twitter also released a statement saying that his account would be banned entirely if he violated the Twitter rules once more. For further updates on the story, stick with us here at Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_