Facebook removes Trump's video on US Capitol riot over fraud claims
Amid the chaos at the US Capitol Building today, President Trump made a highly criticized video calling for the rioters to go home, but also validating the ideas that spurred their actions. In a tweet soon after, Facebook's VP of Integrity Guy Rosen said that Facebook made the decision to take down Trump's video.
Calls for Trump to denounce the activity at the Capitol reached a frenzy when rioters breached the building's front doors. The activities claimed one life and resulted in a spat of images and videos showing intruders in various parts of the building, including one allegedly taken in Pelosi's office.
This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump's video. We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.
— Guy Rosen (@guyro) January 6, 2021
Trump eventually released a video calling for the rioters to go home, but many have heavily criticized the message for including validating claims about election fraud. In a tweet soon after, Rosen said that Facebook had decided to remove the video over concerns that it would encourage additional violence.
Facebook isn't the only social media company that pulled the video. YouTube similarly took down the message, as did Twitter. The latter company also said that three tweets from Trump's account need to be removed 'for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy.'
Once the tweets are removed, Twitter says the account will be locked for 12 hours, but that if the tweets aren't removed, the account will remain locked. The company likewise warned that 'future violations' will result in the account being permanently suspended. At this time, the POTUS account shows three tweets removed.