ABC's Hostin: Facebook Upheld Trump Ban Because He Is 'Still a Public Safety Threat'
ABC News legal analyst and co-host of “The View” Sunny Hostin said on Wednesday’s broadcast that Facebook upheld its ban of former President Donald Trump because she believed he continues to be “a public safety threat.”
Hostin said, “Facebook is a private company. That’s why they can make this kind of decision. I’m always very concerned, as an attorney, just as an American, of course, about free speech. I think you have to be very careful when you decide to take that ability away from someone. That being said, the reason this happened to Trump is based on two posts that he posted during the insurrection, right, a real attack on our democracy. One he told rioters, ‘we love you you’re very special.’ In another post, he called them ‘great patriots’ and told them to ‘remember this day forever.’ At the time, Facebook felt it was clear there was an immediate risk of harm and that his words of support for those involved in the riots legitimized their violent actions.”
She continued, “There has to be a balance between free speech and violence and free speech and public safety. That’s why that decision was made. 68% of Americans get their information from social media. They get their news from social media. So when you have someone like this, you know, former disgraced, one-term president, two-time impeached president disseminating this kind of misinformation, even though he is no longer president, there are so many people hanging on his every word I think he is still a public safety threat. So in that sense, Facebook was a very effective fund-raising tool for him. I don’t think that now is the time to give him that megaphone back and give him the ability to perhaps harm public safety and harm this country.”
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