Donald Trump's digital presence has been cut down significantly after protests in Washington DC turned into riots earlier this week. Trump supporters gathered outside of Capitol Hill to protest the certification of Joe Biden's presidential win. However, things turned violent once a large group of these supporters began to mob and riot, breaking into federal buildings and ransacking the place. Five people died, including a police officer, in the mayhem. Trump's instigation and push for "action" to "stop the steal" were seen as the catalyst for the riot. His loaded, and oftentimes wildly incorrect, social media takes were responsible for inciting and exciting the crowd of followers. So, subsequently, his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts have been banned.
To be honest, we've seen kids get banned in gaming chat rooms for less. Trump's rhetoric, and his social media fact-checking pushback, caused an exodus of sorts for Republicans who wished to find a social media app where they felt they were not being censored or fact-checked. Along comes Parler, the pro-Trump app that promised not to fact check falsehoods or censor their users at all. Lo and behold, Trumper's flocked to Parler. But it looks like the app is getting some push back from big tech now, as well.
Parler has been suspended from Google Play for featuring many posts inciting violence in connection with the Capitol Hill riots. Apple, being a little nicer, gave Parler 24 hours to remove all questionable content and submit a detailed regulation plan. Apple wrote, in a statement, that Parler has not been, “removing content that encourages illegal activity and poses a serious risk to the health and safety of users.” They also highlight that the riots were planned, very loudly and publicly, on the app. While many people cry "freedom of speech," those same people understand you cannot go into a Starbucks, or movie theater, and say and do whatever you please. There are rules for every place you enter. A digital place is no different. It will be interesting to see how social media, and the American public, will deal with this moving forward.
[Via]