March 20, 2023
After a two-year suspension, YouTube has lifted the ban on former US President Donald Trump’s YouTube account. This decision follows in the footsteps of Meta, and Twitter.
In January 2021, YouTube banned the Donald J. Trump channel for violating its policies on incitement of violence. However, the channel is now back online, according to YouTube’s press account. On Twitter, the company stated that; “Starting today, the Donald J. Trump channel is no longer restricted and can upload new content.”
Regardless of the change, Trump’s channel will still be subject to YouTube’s policies, just like any other channel on the platform. According to a YouTube statement, they carefully considered the risk of real-world violence while balancing voters’ ability to hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election.
Following the US Capitol riots on 6 January 2021, when hundreds of rioters stormed the complex as Congress attempted to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, Trump’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts were suspended. Trump launched his own social media platform, Truth Social, several months later, but his accounts on all of these platforms have resurfaced since announcing his candidacy for the US presidency in 2024.
Following the reinstatement, he posted on Facebook for the first time in over two years, with a short video clip of his 2016 victory speech and the message “I’M BACK!”
The lifting of the ban on Trump’s account will undoubtedly elicit reactions from people on both sides of the political aisle. However, the move comes after other social media platforms decided to reinstate his accounts, indicating that the former president’s social media presence will continue.
The sources for this piece include an article in BBC.
