WASHINGTON: YouTube restored former US President Donald Trump’s account on Friday, becoming the latest and last social networking platform to do so.
Taking to Twitter, Youtube Insiders said, “Starting today, the Donald J. Trump channel is no longer restricted and can upload new content. We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election.”
“This channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube,” YouTube added.
Trump’s several social media account was suspended after January 6, 2021 attack on the US capitol.
Recently, Trump submitted his nomination for the Presidential bid for the 2024 election. Trump now has full access to his Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts, potentially giving him the social media reach that helped him win the 2016 presidential election, according to The Washington Post.
But he has yet to begin taking advantage of the internet megaphones, preferring to post on his own platform Truth Social and speak at rallies. The former president has told people he can’t leave Truth Social because his presence there is keeping it going, and he doesn’t want a venture so closely linked to his name to fail, The Post reported in November.
The policy change is a big shift for YouTube, which had always said that it doesn’t take the political or news relevance of an account into consideration when making a decision about whether to take it down, unlike Facebook which in past years had made explicit exceptions to its rules for well-known politicians.
The decision comes a month after longtime YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said she would step down to focus on her health.
Unlike Twitter and Facebook, where the president posted his musings, policy changes and attacks on rivals directly, he used YouTube more as an online library for videos of his rallies. His account there has 2.65 million subscribers, compared to the 87.4 million followers he has on Twitter, as per The Washington Post.
Interestingly, YouTube was also the last of the major social media platforms to suspend Trump after the attack on the Capitol, making its move several days after Twitter and then Facebook banned him.
The video-sharing site said it suspended Trump out of concern for “the ongoing potential for violence” soon after he uploaded a video where he said his comments to supporters just before the Capitol attack were “totally appropriate.”
Earlier, in November, Trump rejoined Twitter after CEO Elon Musk confirmed to reinstate his account. Elon Musk on Sunday confirmed to reinstate of Trump’s Twitter account.
“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” tweeted Musk. Vox Populi, Vox Dei, a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” (ANI)