In a shocking plot twist, former President of the United States Donald Trump will be allowed back on Facebook and Instagram after being banned for the past two years.
According to a blog post published by Meta's President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg, the 76-year-old will be reinstated on both Facebook and Instagram after the business reinvestigated the issue.
Clegg, who was also the former deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010-2015, started by outlining the importance of "open debate and the free flow of ideas" on social media, "especially at a time when they are under threat in many places around the world."
"As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open, public, and democratic debate on Meta’s platforms — especially in the context of elections in democratic societies like the United States," the post continued.
"Two years ago, we took action in what were extreme and highly unusual circumstances. We indefinitely suspended then-US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021."
The event saw hundreds of Trump supporters storm the Capitol building in Washington DC, vandalizing public property and also attacking police officers who were trying to put an end to the riot.
The event also led to the death of five people - including one police officer.
Clegg went on to explain how the blame for the rampage ultimately lay in the hands of Trump, which forced them to review his reach on social media.
"We then referred that decision to the Oversight Board — an expert body established to be an independent check and balance on our decision-making," he wrote. "The Board upheld the decision but criticized the open-ended nature of the suspension and the lack of clear criteria for when and whether suspended accounts will be restored, directing us to review the matter to determine a more proportionate response."
At the time, it was decided that the business tycoon would be suspended for two years from January 7.
"In our response to the Oversight Board, we also said that before making any decision on whether or not to lift Mr. Trump’s suspension, we would assess whether the risk to public safety has receded."
The President of Global Affairs told readers that while the decision was "an extraordinary" one, it was necessary at the time.
"Now that the time period of the suspension has elapsed, the question is not whether we choose to reinstate Mr. Trump’s accounts," he said before adding that after a re-investigation into the matter, the company will be reinstating both his Facebook and Instagram account.
"We know that any decision we make on this issue will be fiercely criticized," he emphasized. "Reasonable people will disagree over whether it is the right decision. But a decision had to be made, so we have tried to make it as best we can in a way that is consistent with our values and the process we established in response to the Oversight Board’s guidance."
The news comes shortly after Trump hosted conservative influencers from the 'Libs of TikTok' and Babylon Bee at Mar-a-Lago in a bid to gain some traction in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential Elections.
As per the Independent, Trump is set to host his first event this weekend in South Carolina.
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