Donald Trump incited a terrorist insurrection and attempted coup in the United States on January 6th, 2021. This was after he lost the election, he encouraged his followers to stop lawmakers from certifying the results of the election. For his efforts, he was impeached a second time, the only president ever to be impeached twice. Twitter and Facebook banned him, Facebook in part to help people forget that the insurrection was largely planned on their platform. Apple and Google banned Parler from the App Store and Google Play.
And now Facebook’s hoping you’ve forgotten just how much they’ve destroyed American democracy. From spreading fake news, to intentionally boosting false right-wing stories and burying left-leaning sources, to now allowing Trump back on Facebook. I suppose inciting violence is only enough for a 2-year suspension, not a lifetime ban.
You know, because they have to make sure he has a chance to incite another coup in 2024.
Trump’s Suspension Ending (In 2 Years)
Insurrection at the capitol, 1/6/2021. Photo credit: Tyler Merbler, via Wikipedia, CC 2.0 license.
Fortunately, Trump’s not back on Facebook yet. We have a nice bit of peace across social networks until 2023. Then, Facebook could allow Trump back on their network so he can campaign for a 2024 presidential run. It’s still possible to change Facebook’s mind on this though. They didn’t say he would definitely be allowed back, only that it would be reconsidered in 2023. However, due to the timing, Facebook’s intentions are obvious. Trump could be allowed back on the network as of January 7th, 2023, just in time to spread his hate, violence, and bigotry for a 2024 campaign.
Facebook currently does not ban individual users permanently. Instead, they only face a suspension. However, an argument can be made in the case of organizations. Facebook bans organizations. There has never been a political figure like Trump. He leads a cult-like following of people that will break out in violence at his suggestion. Trump is the violent organization in this case. Politicians and organization leaders should face additional scrutiny, especially when they are the figurehead of an informal organization. Instead, Facebook allows loopholes in their rules for “newsworthy” content, even with their new rules.
Politicians Might Have to Follow the Same Rules
Facebook will “not presume that any person’s speech is inherently newsworthy, including by politicians” under their new guidelines. Is this good news? Yes… and no. Facebook says they’re ditching the automatic “newsworthy” exception for politicians. This means they could see posts like Donald Trump’s post calling for an outright ban on Muslims entering the United States, and ban him for it. Under the old guidelines, politicians could be racist, Islamophobic, hateful bigots, and sneak past Facebook’s rules because their posts are “newsworthy.”
To Facebook, precursors to genocide, like banning people from a nation based on their religion, are just perfectly acceptable political opinions from “real politicians,” and therefore newsworthy. However, Facebook is getting rid of this newsworthy loophole, right?
Not exactly.
But Wait, It’s Worse!
Facebook’s not actually removing the exception entirely. While Facebook says politicians will now have to follow the same rules, it turns out, Facebook is still giving themselves the final say. If they think a particular post is newsworthy, they’ll let it stay.
Facebook says they will no longer consider “newsworthiness” an automatic factor in whether or not they automatically allow or delete a post and ban or suspend the user. However, they will make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. This will be based on the post itself, with consideration paid to who made it, rather than simply allowing any politician to get away with anything.
If you’re paying attention, you realize this means Facebook will get to choose when they allow rule breaking for “newsworthiness” on a per-politician basis. Who shares the most hateful views on Facebook? Conservatives. Who shares the most untrue content on Facebook? Conservatives. Who has Facebook already favored with exceptions to their rules? Again, conservatives. So who will Facebook unilaterally apply these exceptions for?
You guessed it, conservatives.
Just in time for Trump to make a comeback.
Facebook’s Application of Rules Isn’t Uniform
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A gallows hangs near the United States Capitol during the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. Photo: Tyler Merbler, via Wikipedia and the CC 2.0 license.
The problem at the heart of all of this is Facebook’s balancing act. They’re controlling for two factors: outrage over the hate, violence, bigotry, and death their platform promotes, and the profit those outlandish posts produce. Posts that stir the pot, upsetting many people, drive interaction. Likes, angry reacts, comments, arguments, it all keeps users coming back to Facebook, day after day. It helps Facebook collect information and sell ads to these people.
Right now, Facebook’s policies invite more bad actors. They give leeway to those breaking their rules if they’re conservatives because conservatives share the most controversial content and most fake news. Fake news is profitable. There’s an old rule on the internet. If you want an answer quickly, post the wrong answer first. People love the idea that they get to correct someone.
Donald Trump incited a violent insurrection that got people killed. Facebook thinks they may remove his ban, because apparently they still value his contributions. That doesn’t sound like something they’d do for the average insurrectionist, let alone their leader, but Facebook isn’t shying away from exceptions to their rules anytime soon. They’ll craft rules to help their worst users because Facebook’s business model is built around them.
Sources:
- José Adorno, 9to5Mac
- K. Bell, Engadget
- Devin Coldewey, TechCrunch
- Elizabeth Dwoskin, The Washington Post
- Facebook, [2]
- Jane Lytvynenko, Caroline Haskins, Kadia Goba, Buzzfeed News
- Shruti Shekar, Android Central