Facebook Deletes Trump’s Video Message to Rioters, Citing Risk of Violence

Facebook, in an unusual action, removed President Trump’s video post to D.C. rioters telling them to “go home” — while also fanning the conspiracy flames that the U.S. election was fraudulent.

“This is an emergency situation and we are taking appropriate emergency measures, including removing President Trump’s video,” Facebook VP of integrity Guy Rosen wrote in a tweet. “We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence.”

Twitter, meanwhile, disabled the ability for users to retweet, comment on or like Trump’s video, but left the video accessible on the service. Trump posted it Wednesday at about 4:17 p.m. ET after a mob of pro-Trump rioters took over the U.S. Capitol and disrupted the tally of electoral votes in Congress.

In the pre-recorded video, Trump said in part, “I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now… This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you, you’re very special.”

It’s believed to be the first time Facebook has deleted one of Trump’s own posts. The social network has pulled down posts shared by the Trump campaign, including a video clip in June of a Trump interview on Fox News Channel in which he claimed children are “virtually immune” to COVID-19 and a campaign video with images and video footage of George Floyd after a copyright complaint.

More to come.

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