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Mark Zuckerberg Blocks Donald Trump From Facebook And Instagram

Mark Zuckerberg Blocks Donald Trump From Facebook And Instagram

Zuckerberg said that the riots show that the US president wishes to use his remaining time in office to 'undermine the peaceful transition'

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Mark Zuckerberg has blocked Donald Trump from using Facebook and Instagram in a bid to enable a 'peaceful and lawful transition of power' to Joe Biden.

The social media mogul has said the US president's remaining days in office 'and the days after inauguration' must pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.

The riots taking place yesterday.
PA

This comes after pro-Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol Building in a bid to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's election victory.

During these riots a woman, who has been named as Ashli Babbitt, from San Diego, California, was shot and killed.

Zuckerberg addressed the chaos, explaining: "The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden."

PA

He went on: "His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect - and likely their intent - would be to provoke further violence.

"Following the certification of the election results by Congress, the priority for the whole country must now be to ensure that the remaining 13 days and the days after inauguration pass peacefully and in accordance with established democratic norms.

"Over the last several years, we have allowed President Trump to use our platform consistent with our own rules, at times removing content or labelling his posts when they violate our policies.

"We did this because we believe that the public has a right to the broadest possible access to political speech, even controversial speech. But the current context is now fundamentally different, involving use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government.

"We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete."

Donald Trump made a speech yesterday telling protesters to go home (but not forgetting to tell them he loves them).
Twitter

Yesterday (6 January), Trump urged his supporters who stormed the Capitol building to go home, but added that he loves them and understands their 'pain'.

In a video posted to his Twitter account, the US President says: "I know your pain, I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us."

Finishing with: "We have to have peace, so go home. We love you, you're very special. You've seen what happens, you've seen the way that others are treated that are so bad and so evil.

"I know how you feel, but go home, and go home in peace."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News