Meta’s Move Follows Last Week’s Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg Sent by Over 60 Civil Rights and Tech Policy Organizations Including GLAAD
GLAAD today responded to Facebook-parent Meta announcing that it will restore former President Donald Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram, just over two years after suspending him. As part of the Change the Terms coalition, GLAAD and dozens of other civil society groups submitted an open letter last week to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging the company to make permanent its banning of Donald Trump from their platforms given his egregious prior behavior and active ongoing perpetuation of such falsehoods and hate on his current social media accounts.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis released the following statement:
“Today Meta once again failed marginalized communities and our entire democracy with this sad and dangerous move. At a time when LGBTQ people report being bullied and harassed online more than any marginalized group, and when misinformation about our lives is leading to anti-LGBTQ legislation, relentless harassment, and physical violence, Meta should prioritize creating safer and truthful environments. Donald Trump’s longstanding history of using social media platforms to amplify lies and misinformation and incite hate and violence makes his return to Facebook and Instagram dangerous for every single American. Given Meta’s long history of prioritizing their own corporate profits over public safety, today’s news is not surprising, but it will rightfully be met with condemnation from community leaders and Meta employees alike.”
Facebook and Instagram both received failing grades on GLAAD’s 2022 Social Media Safety Index. Instagram received a 48% and Facebook received a 46% out of a possible 100 points.
According to the 2022 Online Hate and Harassment Report compiled by the Anti-Defamation League, LGBTQ people continued to report disproportionately higher rates of harassment online than all other identity groups at 66%, compared to 38% for the general population overall.
Within hours of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, GLAAD urged Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to permanently ban former President Trump for his role in spreading lies about his election loss and for inciting violence among his supporters.
Former President Trump consistently used social media to spread anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and spread lies about LGBTQ people, especially transgender people. In July 2017, he tweeted that transgender people should be banned from military service, one of more than 200 attacks in policy and rhetoric against LGBTQ people tracked by GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project.
