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Facebook warns employees against Trump loyalists

Tuesday, 12 January 2021 2:14 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 12 January 2021 2:49 PM ]

Trump supporters gather outside the US Capitol building following a "Stop the Steal" rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. (AFP photo)

Facebook has warned employees to avoid wearing or carrying company-branded clothing and other items in public following the company’s suspension of US President Donald Trump’s account and its more recent crackdown on Trump-related content.

Social media platforms cut their services to Trump “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” following the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill.

Trump blasts Twitter for 'banning free speech'

US President Donald Trump blasts Twitter for "banning free speech" after the micro-blogging platform censored his accounts for inciting violence.

The Facebook management’s internal memo to employees about the issue, which was run by US media on Monday, reflects concerns that the company’s suspension of Trump's accounts could put its staff at risk.
Facebook says its decision to take action against the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces had to do with the increased calls for violence.

The social media giant mentioned “Stop the Steal,” an online movement that falsely claimed the presidential election results had been corrupted, as one of the accounts inciting violence in the US.

In related news, FBI warned of planned protests by armed Trump loyalists, many of them linked to the US military, across 50 US states in the wake of Democrats’ pressure on Trump following his supporters’ deadly breach of the Capitol.