Did Facebook's pursuit of profit contribute to the Jan. 6th riots?
The House of Representatives had convened in the Capitol building to certify the Electoral College vote making Joe Biden America’s 46th president, following one of the nation’s most bitterly divisive and contested elections.
At that very hour, President Trump was delivering an impassioned speech to several thousand supporters, exhorting them to march to Capitol Hill to “save America” from the fraud he claimed robbed him of re-election.
When Trump finished, his most fervent supporters trooped to the Capitol, where another pro-Trump crowd had already formed. Events quickly spiraled out of control. Demonstrators stormed the Capitol, breaking doors and windows, forcing members of Congress to run for cover. Capitol police shot and killed one rioter. It took more than six hours to restore order.
Both Facebook and Twitter suspended Trump’s accounts. Facebook accused Trump’s posts of contributing to rather than diminishing the risk of ongoing violence. Twitter cited repeated and severe violations of its “civic integrity policy.” Ultimately, both social media giants silenced Trump by making the suspensions permanent.
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