Former US President Donald Trump has returned to Facebook and YouTube, the tech platforms that helped propel his political rise, following his ban after the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress by his supporters. According to Reuters, Trump’s Facebook and YouTube accounts displayed the message “I’M BACK!” in a video posted by CNN, featuring footage from his 2016 election victory over Hillary Clinton and a “Trump 2024” screen. Alphabet Inc’s YouTube reinstated Trump’s channel on Friday, and Meta Platforms Inc reinstated his Facebook and Instagram accounts earlier this year.
With a combined 146 million followers across these platforms, Trump’s return to social media gives him access to key vehicles for political fundraising as he prepares for another run for the presidency in 2024. His campaign spokesman previously stated that being back on Facebook “will be an important tool for the 2024 campaign to reach voters.” Despite his reinstatement, Trump has yet to post on Twitter, although his own social media platform, Truth Social, which he founded in 2021, allowed him to communicate with his supporters during his ban from Twitter and Meta.
Referring to its move to restore his account, YouTube in a tweet said, “We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election.”
