After Meta, X settles lawsuit with Trump over suspending his account in the aftermath of January 6 Capitol attack
Following the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection, where Trump supporters, who refused to accept the 2020 US Presidential Election results, went on a rampage, social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter had suspended his accounts.
Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has reached a settlement with US President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account on the micro-blogging platform following the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection. X has reportedly agreed to pay $10 million to the US President for the nearly two-year suspension of Trump's account, which was one of the most popular on the platform, then called Twitter.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Why was Trump's accounts suspended
Following the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection, where Trump supporters, who refused to accept the 2020 US Presidential Election results, went on a rampage, social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter had suspended his accounts.
The two social media platforms that took down Trump's accounts temporarily later made the suspension permanent. Twitter, which was then owned by co-founder Jack Dorsey, made the announcement on January 8, 2021, saying, "After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.Ħħ
CREDIT: REUTERS
How Trump responded
Trump had sued Twitter and Dorsey unsuccessfully in July 2021, arguing that his speech was being unfairly censored and that the suspension was a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.
Musk reinstated Trump on X
Trump remained suspended from Twitter until November 2022, when billionaire Elon Musk, who purchased the social media platform for $44 billion, restored his account.
Despite this, Trump, who had launched his own social media platform called TruthSocial, remained inactive on X and only began posting on the platform during the run-up to the 2024 US presidential elections.
CREDIT: REUTERS
X played a big role in Trump's win
Musk has since emerged as the right-hand man of Trump and, during the election cycle, he used his accounts and control of X to amplify conspiracy theories and fake news to target the Kamala Harris campaign.
Last month, Meta also settled its lawsuit with Trump for $25 million after suspending his accounts.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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