The ban stands! Facebook is forced to deny rumours that Donald Trump has been allowed back on to its site – as the former president shuts down his own website after just 29 days
- Trump has been banned by many social media sites since Capitol riots in January
- Conservative commentators believed Trump had been reinstated on Wednesday
- While his Facebook and Instagram pages are visible, Trump’s ban is still in place
Facebook has denied that Donald Trump has been allowed back on to its platform after rumours spread that the former president’s ban was lifted.
Trump was banned from many social media sites following his posts during the storming of the Capitol on January 6.
A number of conservative commentators falsely believed he had been restored to Instagram and Facebook on Wednesday after noticing his pages were viewable, unlike his Twitter account.
Facebook has denied that Donald Trump has been allowed back on to its platform after rumours spread that the former president’s ban was lifted
Facebook’s policy communications director Andy Stone responded to the rumours on Twitter, where he denied Trump’s reinstatement
But even those the pages are visible to the public, they are still frozen for Trump, meaning he cannot post on them.
His last post on Facebook remains his final message on January 6 in which he said: ‘I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!
‘Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!’
His previous posts are now flooded with messages from supporters welcoming back to the social media sites despite his continued censorship.
Facebook’s policy communications director Andy Stone responded to the rumours on Twitter, where he denied Trump’s reinstatement.
On Instagram, Trump’s final post in January is now flooded with comments welcoming him back to the site
The president’s most recent post on Facebook, asking for Capitol protesters to be peaceful, has also received new comments falsely believing Trump had returned
He said: ‘Nothing about the status of President Trump’s presence on our platform has changed. He remains indefinitely suspended.’
It comes as Trump permanently shut down the website he used to get around his social media ban and where he posted his statements after just 29 days.
‘From the Desk of Donald J. Trump’ has been scrubbed from the former president’s website and instead the URL redirects users to a page to sign up for his email and text alerts.
A Trump adviser told The Washington Post that Trump shut it down because he didn’t like that the site was being mocked and didn’t garner a large readership.
Senior Trump aide Jason Miller told CNBC that the site ‘will not be returning.’
‘It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on,’ he added.
Trump was banned from Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Twitter by Jack Dorsey (right) following his posts during the storming of the Capitol on January 6
The site was set up amid the former president being banned from social media sites but it received criticism from those who claimed it was a sad excuse for an alternative to these other platforms.
A GOP strategist predicted on Twitter that it was shut down as ‘a precursor to him joining another social media platform?’
‘Yes, actually, it is. Stay tuned!’ Miller confirmed in a response to the post.
Trump promised after being booted from his accounts that he would set up his own social media site, which he insists is different from the ‘desk’ blog.
Miller claimed he is ‘hoping to have more information on the broader efforts soon’ regarding the new social media site.
‘I do not have a precise awareness of timing,’ he said.
Trump used ‘From the desk of Donald J. Trump’ to post all of his statements after he was booted from social media like Facebook and Twitter after the January 6 Capitol attack, for which he was ultimately impeached for ‘inciting an insurrection’
The URL for the ‘desk’ site now redirects users to a page where they can sign up to receive text and email alerts from the former president
Trump unveiled his new blog last month billed as a ‘communication platform’ for the former president to interact more directly with supporters and the public after losing his access to other platforms.
A Twitter account set up to repost those statements verbatim was immediately shut down by CEO Jack Dorsey.
The ‘desk’ site, however, also gave visitors the ability to easily share the statements for themselves onto social media platforms.
Due to Trump’s messaging for a new social media platform, many felt this new website was him unveiling that.
A GOP strategist predicted the site getting shut down is a preview for the former president ‘joining another social media platform,’ to which Miller confirmed ‘Yes, actually, it is. Stay tuned!’
He and his team pushed back against this, however, claiming it was just a way to pump out his statements, which were also sent out through the email account for his Save America political action committee.
Miller said at the time in his own Twitter post that the ‘Desk’ page was ‘a great resource’ to find Trump’s statements.
He clarified ‘this is not a new social media platform.’
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