Trump's Social Media Ban
The Capitol Riot of January 6th 2021 was arguably the biggest attack on constitutional democracy in America, arguably since The War of 1812 after British troops set fire to the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and chambers in the House and Senate. After two months of incessant lies about the 2020 election on social media, angry Trump supporters gathered at the “Save America” rally in Washington D.C. President Trump extolled his supporters to “fight like hell” and refused to recognize the symbolic counting of 2020 election results by the joint houses of Congress which was about to formally announce his defeat. As a result, the age-old tradition of counting electoral votes was rudely interrupted, by a mob of Trump supporters occupying and vandalizing the Capitol, forcing congressmen to evacuate. Lawmakers have recounted their experiences since then. On instagram live, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) explained how she hid in the bathroom while fearing for her life. Five people, including police officers, were killed. In a video posted on Twitter while the violence was underway, Trump called the rioters “very special people.” It took several hours for the National Guard to secure the Capitol, and Trump was impeached for a second time by the House of Representatives for “incitement of insurrection.”
After weeks of warnings, Twitter permanently banned Trump for inciting violence via his posts on the microblogging site. By late January, the fabrications and outrage which had spread to millions of Americans started to subside, proving that it was indeed his postings on social media which had given rise to radicalization of members of the American right-wing, including Republican senators Hawley and Cruz. Donald Trump started out as a property developer and a reality TV star on the show “The Apprentice.” From the beginning of his career, he grasped the power of social media as a marketing too, initially for expanding his businesses and later to build a large political base at low cost. He pushed a nationalist agenda titled “America First” and made increasingly derogatory comments targeting countries, minorities, celebrities and political rivals. He cultivated the image of a successful businessman who excelled at the “Art of the deal” and quickly has gotten to the bottom of issues and completed his tasks. This deft use of social media, especially Twitter, enabled him to connect real-time with millions of his fanbase multiple times a day — his twitter handle @realDonaldTrump pushed out up to 100 tweets a day before his ban. He excelled at inventing and repeating monikers like “fake news” for mainstream journalism, “Crooked Hillary” for his former presidential rival, and the “China virus” for COVID-19. After he was elected the 45th U.S. president, his tweets were widely feared, anticipated, mocked or followed depending on the person reading it. By contrast, other politicians or world leaders continued to provide benign or official-sounding updates on their Twitter which barely ever caused controversy.
After Trump’s social media ban, many of his supporters have turned to alternative platforms like Gab, though Trump himself does not yet have a presence on these smaller sites. Without the presidential privileges of a briefing room and press secretary, it is possible he will turn to networks like OAN and Fox News. Trump has also floated rumors of creating his own platform, tweeting “We will not be SILENCED!” before his ban on January 8th. With Trump out of the White House, the question turns to what the consequences of his social media ban will be on his political influence. Only time will tell whether Trump can incite violence without the use of social media at his disposal or if this loss of influence will prevent him from attacking democracy in the future.
by ANIKA BASU