Former President Donald Trump posted for the first time on Facebook months after the platform restored his account, signaling a start to the Republican’s 2024 reelection campaign.
Trump posted “I’M BACK!” on Friday, along with a video from a public appearance after his 2016 electoral win. The return post appears to kick-start Trump’s efforts to reignite his connection with supporters on social media, which was a hallmark of his previous campaign and presidency.
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Trump was previously banned for his role in promoting violence during Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol but was restored after the temporary ban by Facebook ended in early 2023. Facebook said it would reinstate Trump’s account with guardrails to ensure he could not spread misinformation. He has been slowly returned to online platforms.
Meta had previously implemented a time-bound two-year suspension on Trump’s account at the behest of its regulatory body, the Oversight Board. The request was made over his statements allegedly promoting violence during the Jan. 6 riots.
The Oversight Board eventually reviewed its policy and decided the ban would end in 2023.
Meta’s leadership announced the restoration of Trump’s account in January. “We will be reinstating Mr. Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks,” Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs, wrote in a blog post. “However, we are doing so with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.”
The guidelines include heightened penalties if Trump or his team posts something that violates the company’s community standards. Meta also said it would limit the spread of posts that don’t break the community standards but risk offline harm, such as “content that delegitimizes an upcoming election or is related to QAnon.” Meta may also remove the share button or stop posts from being recommended or posted as ads if violations are observed.
Now that Trump has returned to the platform, he will be exempt from Meta’s fact-checking efforts because he is a political candidate, according to internal documents.
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Trump’s team pushed for Meta to reinstate the former president amid his 2024 reelection campaign. While Trump signed a Securities and Exchange Commission filing stating he would give his social network Truth Social priority regarding posts, he’s considering not renewing the exclusivity agreement.
Although Trump was reinstated to Twitter in November 2022, he has not posted there.
