Explainer: How Will Trump Get His Message Out Without Social Media?
The decision by tech companies to clamp down on President Donald Trump’s ability to speak to followers through mainstream social media may force him to tap more traditional methods of communication or more isolated…
The decision by tech companies to clamp down on President Donald Trump’s ability to speak to followers through mainstream social media may force him to tap more traditional methods of communication or more isolated conservative online channels during his final days in office, experts say.
Twitter Inc, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc-owned Google, Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc took their strongest actions yet against Trump to limit his reach, fearing continued violence stemming from his posts after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol building last week. They were joined by smaller tech companies including Twitch, Snapchat, Reddit, Shopify and TikTok.
Trump, who has without evidence challenged the validity of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s Nov. 3 election victory, praised and egged on supporters before they laid siege on Wednesday to the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying the Electoral College vote for Biden. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in the assault.
Apple, Google and Amazon have suspended Parler – a pro-Trump app where users have threatened more violence – from their respective app stores and Web-hosting services, a set of moves that stand to severely handicap the service.
The platform has 12 million users and Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric are active on it, but it will now have to find a new Web host to replace Amazon to even stay in business.
HOW CAN TRUMP REACH HIS FOLLOWERS?
Immediately after the Twitter ban – a platform the president has been obsessed with since he first ran for office and where he regularly spoke to his 88 million followers – Trump vowed he would “not be SILENCED!” and promised a “big announcement soon.”
Trump also tweeted from the @POTUS Twitter account shortly after the ban and railed against the tech company, Democrats and a law protecting internet companies called Section 230, and said he was considering building his own social media platform. His tweets were almost immediately deleted by the company.