Meta to restore former US President Trump's Facebook, Instagram accounts
Washington (PTI): Meta Platforms Inc has said that it will restore former US President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, which were suspended following the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021.
Trump, 76, announced in November last year that he will make another dash for the White House in 2024.
Before his accounts got suspended, he had 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram.
"The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances," Nick Clegg, president Global Affairs, Meta said in a blog post on Wednesday.
"The public should be able to hear what politicians are saying so they can make informed choices," he said.
Clegg asserted that under its new newsworthy content policy if Meta assesses there is a public interest in knowing that Trump made the statement that outweighs any potential harm, it may opt to restrict the distribution of such posts but still leave them visible on his account.
"We default to letting people speak, even when what they have to say is distasteful or factually wrong. Democracy is messy and people should be able to make their voices heard," Clegg wrote.
"We believe it is both necessary and possible to draw a line between content that is harmful and should be removed, and content that, however distasteful or inaccurate, is part of the rough and tumble of life in a free society," he said.
Clegg said Meta has put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses."
Facebook is not only the world's largest social media site, but also a critical source of fundraising for Trump's political campaigns.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump responded by saying: "FACEBOOK, which has lost Billions of Dollars in value since "deplatforming" your favorite President, me, has just announced that they are reinstating my account. Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution."
Trump was reinstated by Twitter in November last year after Elon Musk took over the company
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Over 100 students fall ill after having food at state-run residential school in Odisha; 1 dead
Baripada (Odisha) (PTI): A Class 5 student died on Tuesday, two days after having a meal at her government-run tribal residential school in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, officials said, and claimed that more than 100 of her schoolmates have fallen ill after having the food.
Officials said the students of the Kakabandha Ashram School had complained of discomfort and fallen ill after having food items "not mentioned in the authorised menu" on Sunday morning.
Parents of the affected students claimed the children had fermented rice ('pakhala'), mashed potatoes, and mango chutney, following which they suffered from loose motion and vomiting.
More than 100 students fell ill, and they were rushed to the local community health centre, from where 67 of them were shifted to the PMR Medical College and Hospital at Baripada in a serious state, officials said.
"Rupali Besra, a student of Class 5, had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital on Monday. Despite continuous medical intervention, she died on Tuesday morning," said Mayurbhanj district collector Hema Kanta Say.
The officer also said, "At present, 66 students are undergoing treatment at the hospital, while another 41 are admitted at the community health centre. One medical team has been sent to the health centre while another is camping at the school."
Some more students are being admitted to the hospital, the district collector said.
"Besides the police probe, we will conduct an independent inquiry, as it was alleged that the headmaster had served food that was not mentioned in the menu. Action will be taken against teachers and officials responsible for the incident," he told reporters.
A police case has been registered based on a complaint lodged by the deceased's mother, the district collector added.
After the incident came to light, villagers blocked the Rasgovindpur-Jaleswar road, demanding compensation for the deceased's family and action against the persons responsible for the incident.
The school's headteacher, Jayant Kumar Panigrahi, has been suspended for negligence on duty, and the government has announced Rs 7 lakh ex gratia to the family of the deceased student, officials said.
Odisha Housing and Urban Development Krushna Chandra Mahapatra met with the students admitted to the hospital and spoke to their parents.
