At the rate things are going, Donald Trump will need to open a Neopets account to continue his unhinged rants against his many enemies, as almost every major social media platform has shut him out in the final days of his presidency.
This week, Twitter permanently suspended Trump for inciting violence. While it feels like a case of too little, too late – given the fact that he’s been openly doing that for months at this point – it’s still significant for a world leader to be shut out in this way.
Earlier today, a tweet went viral showing a screengrab of a Fox News report on the many platforms that have banned or restricted the president. Oh boy, it’s a lot.
Lmaooooo this the wildest ban in history. His phone just a brick pic.twitter.com/vnpb79Npb5
— Karate Skool (@KarateSkool) January 9, 2021
With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of every platform that has limited the president’s ability to post, or shut him out entirely (Spotify is included as part of the Fox News infographic, although it’s unclear what specific action they have taken at this time):
- Twitch: The popular streaming platform has disabled the US president’s channels. A statement on the company’s behalf read: “Given the current extraordinary circumstances and the President’s incendiary rhetoric, we believe this is a necessary step to protect our community and prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence.”
- Reddit: Popular subreddit r/DonaldTrump has been banned. While not officially affiliated with the president, it was one of his largest online fan communities. In a statement yesterday, a representative said that the sub was banned in line with rules against content that promotes hate or encourages violence.
- Twitter: After suspending his account for 12 hours this week, Twitter finally dropped the hammer and banned Trump for good, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.” He has since tried to post on other accounts, but has been shut down on those, too.
- YouTube: Compared with many other platforms, YouTube has not actually done much, although it did remove a video posted by Trump in which he acknowledged but did not condemn rioting in DC. The site has said that it will crack down on channels posting “false claims” about voter fraud. Those that receive three strikes in 90 says will be removed.
- Facebook / Instagram: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement that Trump will be barred from posting on Facebook and Instagram for at least the next two weeks, although his accounts are still active.
- Google: Google has pulled Parler, an app popular with right-wing extremists, from its Google Play store. Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys is sure to be devastated.
- Apple: Apple has not yet removed Parler, but has given them a 24-hour ultimatum to “remove all objectionable content” and submit plans for improved moderation, or face being axed from the App Store.
- Shopify: Online shopping platform Shopify has permanently removed two merch stores associated with Trump and his campaign, saying that it “does not tolerate actions that incite violence.”
- Snapchat: The popular social networking app has locked Trump’s account, saying that it “promotes and spreads hate and incites violence.”
- TikTok: Trump tried to ban TikTok earlier this year, but seemingly just forgot about it and moved on to other things. This week, the social networking platform cracked down on hashtags like #stormthecapitol and #patriotparty, redirecting them to its community guidelines. Other hashtags like #stopthesteal and #QAnon already redirect.
- Pinterest: The photo-sharing and mood board-making platform has also limited Trump-centric hashtags, saying that it will continue to crack down on content that promotes hatred and violence.
Surely it won’t be long until some of these others step up, too:
