Facebook Board upholds Trump ban; rejects infinite suspension

Facebook’s Oversight Board, which takes the final call on controversial content takedown decisions and bans, upheld the social network’s ban on former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The board said Trump’s posts “severely violated” Facebook’s rules and his words during the US Capitol attack in January “legitimized violence” and put people’s lives at risk.

“President Trump’s actions on social media encouraged and legitimized violence and were a severe violation of Facebook’s rules,” said Thomas Hughes, director of the oversight board administration. “By maintaining an unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action, Mr Trump created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible. Facebook’s decision to suspend the President on 7 January was right.”