Allies and critics of the US president slam Twitter’s move to ban him from its platform, citing freedom of speech.
AlJazeera
January 11, 2021
Citing the danger of inciting further acts of violence, on January 8 Twitter suspended United States President Donald Trump’s account – three days after he called on his supporters on Twitter to march towards the US Capitol building while Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
“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,” Twitter said.
Thousands of rioters violently stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to be rushed to safety or hide under furniture. Five people died.
The move cut Trump off from his nearly 90 million followers on the platform. Facebook had issued a similar move, banning him from its social networking site, at least for the remainder of his time in office, which ends on January 20.
It also set off a wave of reactions from officials and world leaders. As several welcomed the move, many – among them critics of the divisive leader – blasted the action as politically motivated and an infringement on free speech.
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