USA: On Friday, former US President Donald Trump published videos on YouTube and Facebook, returning to the social media sites he had previously used to fuel his political ascent before being blocked after his supporters' attack on Congress on January 6, 2021.
The "I'M BACK!" posts on his Facebook and YouTube pages feature a CNN video announcing Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. A screen reading "Trump 2024" then fades in. In the video, Trump apologises for keeping the viewer waiting.
Earlier on Friday, YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc., restored Trump's channel. Earlier this year, Meta Platforms Inc. restored Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts.
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Trump hasn't posted on Twitter since Elon Musk, the site's new owner, restored his account in November.
Trump used social media to fuel his improbable presidential campaign in 2016. In 2024, if he decides to run for president again, he will be able to reach a combined 146 million followers across three significant tech platforms thanks to his return.
"We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election," YouTube said in a tweet, referring to its move to restore his account. An enquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Trump's campaign staff.
After Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election, YouTube banned Trump in 2021 for breaking its policy against inciting violence.
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Trump's detractors claim that his posts on the Truth Social platform, which he founded in late 2021 and has close to 5 million users, show that he still poses the same risk that caused his suspensions.
Trump's return to social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook comes as the Manhattan District Attorney's office is considering filing criminal charges over hush-money payments made to a porn star during Trump's 2016 campaign. Trump and his allies claim that the charges are politically motivated without providing any supporting evidence.
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Trump is also facing a $250 million civil fraud lawsuit from the state of New York, which accuses him of engaging in a decade-long scheme to inflate the value of more than 200 assets and his net worth in order to obtain better loan terms from banks and insurance companies. Trump referred to the lawsuit as a witch hunt.
