Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, recently made the decision to allow former President Trump back onto the platforms after his post-January 6th indefinite suspension. Though there are new “guardrails” up for Trump, that’s not enough for anti-free speech leftists that are panicking over Trump being let back onto the platform.
Particularly, Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Sheldon Whitehouse are losing it over Meta’s decision and so penned another letter demanding that it reverse the decision, saying:
“Based on Meta’s previous statements on standards for allowing Trump back on the platform, his account should not have been reinstated. Trump has continued to post harmful election content on Truth Social that would likely violate Facebook’s policies, and we have every reason to believe he will bring similar conspiratorial rhetoric back to Facebook, too.
“How Facebook could reinstate his account, given all the additional content on Truth Social that would likely have resulted in a brand-new suspension if it were on your platform, is inexplicable.”
Continuing, the letter also said:
“[W]e believe that part of Meta’s commitment to election integrity should be ensuring that those who maintain the unfounded, dangerous narrative of the 2020 election are not allowed or encouraged to spread the lie in any form. It is not clear in this decision where Meta will draw the line “between content that is harmful and should be removed, and content that, however distasteful or inaccurate, is part of the rough and tumble of life in a free society” and we would greatly appreciate further clarity on this matter.”
This isn’t the first letter that the anti-free speech duo has sent to Meta. They sent a note saying much the same thing before Meta decided to let Trump back on the platform, saying:
“After each election cycle, social media platforms like Meta often alter or roll back certain misinformation policies, because they are temporary and specific to the election season.
“Doing so in this current environment, in which election disinformation continuously erodes trust in the integrity of the voting process, would be a tragic mistake. Meta must commit to strong election misinformation policies year-round, as we are still witnessing falsehoods about voting and the prior elections spreading on your platform.”
“When initially suspending the account, Facebook’s statement said, ‘If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded.’
“Two years later, we can see unequivocally that Trump is still spreading the Big Lie and thus undermining our democracy. Indeed he has expressed support for pardoning people involved in the January 6th attack on police, should he ever get the chance.”
Trump, despite now being let back on both Facebook and Twitter, has refrained from posting on either platform, both of which were key to his 2016 victory, and has instead stuck to posting only on Truth Social for now, though that could change as the 2024 election cycle heats up.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1