Former US President Donald Trump is back on social media after being banned from major platforms such as Twitter and Facebook earlier this year. On February 10, Trump’s profiles on Facebook and Instagram were activated, but he remained largely silent on the platforms. Meanwhile, on YouTube, he published a short video in which he apologized for keeping people waiting, but didn’t provide any further explanation.
Trump has relied heavily on social media in the past, especially during his successful campaign for the presidency in 2016. However, he’s yet to return to Twitter, which has the largest user base among all social media platforms, and where he currently has over 87.4 million followers. Elon Musk is set to activate Trump’s “@realDonaldTrump” profile on Twitter in November 2022 after a survey.
In the past, Trump has stated that he intends to limit his social media activity to his own platform, Truth Social. However, the platform lacks the reach of other social media sites, making it less useful for his political ambitions. Moreover, Truth Social has struggled with payment issues, which led to a lack of users and advertisers.
The investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 US presidential election revealed that there was evidence of Russian interference. However, a recent study found that Russian troll meddling on Twitter had no measurable impact on Trump’s election. This has put the spotlight back on the role of social media in the democratic process, and whether they should be more tightly regulated.
