Social media giants Facebook and Twitter have collectively seen $51.2 billion in combined market value wiped out over the last two trading sessions since they banned President Donald Trump from their platforms following the U.S. Capitol breach.
Large tech firms and a number of Democratic political figures have claimed Trump incited violence at the U.S. Capitol last week. The incident disrupted debates in both the House and Senate as lawmakers were forced to shelter in place while police and security attempted to seize back control.
Trump took to Twitter following the outbreak of violence to call on protesters to “go home in peace.” He denounced the violence as a “heinous attack” that “defiled the seat of American democracy” on Jan. 7. It is unclear who instigated the breach of the building.
Last week, Twitter first placed restrictions on a video the president posted, before temporarily suspending his account, an action followed closely by Facebook. Twitter two days later permanently suspended Trump’s account over two Twitter posts it cited as having violated its policies.
A large number of pro-Trump accounts were also deleted by Twitter and Facebook. Read more…
