The left-wing American Civil Liberties Union sparked outrage on its side of the aisle for suggesting that Donald Trump’s social media accounts be reinstated.
“Like it or not, President Trump is one of the country’s leading political figures, and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech.”
This is the right call. Like it or not, President Trump is one of the country’s leading political figures and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech. https://t.co/PbY8AevFDy
— ACLU (@ACLU) January 26, 2023
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The tweet was in response to a report that Donald Trump would be allowed back on Facebook and Instagram following the end of a two-year ban. Meta, the social media platforms’ parent company, said that the president would be permitted to return “in the coming weeks.” A similar outcry followed the reinstatement of Trump’s Twitter account last year, which the ACLU also supported.
The ACLU’s executive director, Anthony Romero, said in a report published by the Epoch Times,
“Indeed, some of Trump’s most offensive social media posts ended up being critical evidence in lawsuits filed against him and his administration. And we should know—we filed over 400 legal actions against him. While the government cannot force platforms to carry certain speech, that doesn’t mean the largest platforms should engage in political censorship.”
The ACLU’s allies were unconvinced. The nonprofit came under intense fire from its supporters and other left-wing commentators.
Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann said he felt that private companies should have the right to suppress their users’ speech, “sort of hard to believe you have mistaken a private website acting under its Terms of Service, and the government trying to suppress 1st Amendment rights.”
Kim Masters, editor-at-large of The Hollywood Reporter, threatened to pull her support of the ACLU, writing, “You are really testing my commitment to remaining a donor.”
Superhero movie director Peter Ramsey opined, “When speech is used to foment violence in order to cancel out my rights or my vote on behalf of a con man and criminal, it’s the wrong call.”
“This is your worst take ever,” said author John Pavlovitz.
“I’m disappointed in this take from you because you know hate speech should never be protected,” said Tara Dublin of Occupy Democrats.
Sort of hard to believe you have mistaken a private website acting under its Terms of Service, and the government trying to suppress 1st Amendment rights.
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) January 26, 2023
You are really testing my commitment to remaining a donor.
— Kim Masters (@kimmasters) January 26, 2023
When speech is used to foment violence in order to cancel out my rights or my vote on behalf of a con man and criminal, it’s the wrong call.
— Peter Ramsey (@pramsey342) January 26, 2023
This is your worst take ever.
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) January 26, 2023
He has his own social media platform to spread dangerous and hateful propaganda, including anti-Semitism. I’m disappointed in this take from you, because you know hate speech should never be protected while victims of hate crimes should be
— Tara Dublin (@taradublinrocks) January 26, 2023
On Wednesday, Meta stated that while Trump’s accounts would be reinstated, they would come with “guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.” Meta said in a statement,
“Like any other Facebook or Instagram user, Mr. Trump is subject to our Community Standards. In light of his violations, he now also faces heightened penalties for repeat offenses—penalties which will apply to other public figures whose accounts are reinstated from suspensions related to civil unrest under our updated protocol.
In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,”
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Trump took exception to the new rules and criticized Meta in a post,
Despite having his Twitter account reactivated in November, Trump has yet to return to the platform, preferring his own Truth Social. He has given no indication that he will return to either Facebook or Instagram.
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