Trump supporters’ violent attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 left the world in great shock. These rioters occupied, vandalized and looted parts of the building for several hours. This attack was planned and organized from the far-right Americans when they announced plans to “storm the Capitol” and carry out Donald Trump’s demands to overturn the results of the presidential election. Law enforcement unfortunately ignored these signs of mass organization. The discussion of the storming was spread through many mainstream social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram. Donald Trump motivated and influenced Trump supporter groups like the Proud Boys to destroy the capitol. The rioters were planning this dangerous attack for weeks using these social media outlets.
The control humans have over social media is empowering, but has also become dangerous and destructive. Twitter and Facebook have finally pulled the plug on Donald Trump’s social media. Twitter decided to permanently suspend Trump’s account a day after Facebook’s decision to ban Trump for at least until the end of his term. Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook made the decision to finally suspend Trump’s accounts and the world and I couldn’t be more relieved with this decision. This suspension of his activity will limit the access and opportunities for another deadly attack to occur, cutting him off from 88 million followers on Twitter. The deplatforming was a great success, as we now have proven evidence that the months of planning the deadly attack was created and developed by these social media platforms. Inauguration day was quiet and peaceful, which demonstrates the impact social media has on the world.
As for the social media suspension of Donald Trump for the rest of his term, I think banning him indefinitely from all social media platforms would be the most effective. Especially in future situations where something scary could happen again if we don’t take more precautions now.