If 2022 was a difficult year for Target, 2023 promises not to be left behind. At the beginning of the new year, a great dilemma settled in the office of Mark Zuckerberg’s firm: Should you let Donald Trump return to Facebook? The decision will be announced during January and splits the mood among employees and managers, given the implications that could arise.
According to Financial TimesThe Meta’s intention was to announce whether or not to lift Donald Trump’s suspension. January 7th. However, the date has been pushed back and the decision is expected to be made public towards the end of the month. Whatever the end result, Menlo Park knows that reactions within and outside the company will be divisive.
According to sources in the aforementioned media outlet, identifying the future former U.S. president on Facebook and other Meta platforms will be the “greatest credibility test” Nick Clegg will face. The former UK vice premier and current president of international relations for the California firm oversees the resolution; therefore, it will remain the main goal, regardless of the end result.
The possible return of Donald Trump is a question that on Facebook not taken lightly. Although it seems that more for business than for morality. The former US president was ousted indefinitely on January 7, 2021, a day after the attack on the Capitol. During this episode, the Republican politician was banned from all the most important social networks and platforms, including Twitter and YouTube.
Facebook’s Supervisory Board, an independent board that handles complex cases like this one, supported the decision but expressed anger that the then-manager had been suspended indefinitely. For this reason, he called on the social network to make a decision about his possible return to the platform. during two years. The deadline is set to expire next Saturday, but the Meta is dominated by doubts about what to do about Donald Trump.
The possible return of Donald Trump is a dilemma for Meta
The question of whether to allow Donald Trump to return to Facebook will have both political and economic implications. The tycoon has already expressed his readiness run again for President of the United States in 2024so his suspension on the social network can be seen as an act of censorship.
In fact, his allies in the Republican Party are already accusing Mark Zuckerberg’s firm of suppressing conservative views. While other political groups believe that allowing him to return to the platform with such reach would give him carte blanche to spread false news, misleading comments and hate speech.
Added to this is the specter of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Recall that at the time, Facebook, Twitter and Google were at the epicenter of the storm due to the publication Russian paid advertising which, according to what was known, ultimately affected voters.
Politics, economics and moderation
From an economic point of view, history is also a complex scenario. Return of Donald Trump will scare away many advertisers who today invest millions of dollars in advertising on Facebook. Something similar to what happened recently on Twitter. However, a possible Republican candidacy in 2024 could bring in fresh money to advance his campaign. Either way, no script leaves those from Menlo Park in good shape.
But as if all this is not enough, no one loses sight possible problems with moderation that they will arrive with Donald Trump. An analysis of his posts on Truth Social, his own social network, found that over 300 of them violated Meta’s content policy. So if you were to use the same speech on Facebook, you would be breaking the rules immediately. Something that could be especially harmful given that Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to review his posts if he runs in the next election. As long as you regain access to your account in the first place, that is.
Source: Hiper Textual
