Facebook suspends Donald Trump for 2 years, then will reassess
San Francisco, Jun 4: Facebook said it will suspend former President Donald Trump's accounts for two years following its finding that he stoked violence ahead of the deadly January 6 insurrection.
At the end of this period, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded. We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest, Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, wrote in a blog post Friday.
Facebook also plans to end a contentious policy championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that automatically exempted politicians from rules that banned hate speech and abuse.
The company has said it has never applied this policy to Trump.
The social media giant said on Friday that while it will still apply this newsworthiness" exemption to certain posts it deems to be in the public interest even if they violate Facebook rules, it will no longer treat material posted by politicians any differently from that posted by anyone else.
In addition, Facebook said it will make public whenever it does apply the exemption to a post.
The announcements are in response to recommendations from the company's quasi-independent oversight board.
Last month that panel upheld a decision by Facebook to keep former Trump indefinitely suspended but said the company could not merely suspend him indefinitely and gave it six months to decide what to do with his accounts.
In its decision last month, the board agreed with Facebook that two of Trump's January 6 posts severely violated the content standards of both Facebook and Instagram.
We love you. You're very special, Trump said to the rioters in the first post. In the second, he called them great patriots and told them to remember this day forever.
Those violated Facebook's rules against praising or supporting people engaged in violence, the board said, warranting the suspension.
Specifically, the board cited Facebook's rules against dangerous individuals and organisations, which prohibit anyone who proclaims a violent mission and bans posts that express support or praise of these people or groups.
Facebook has had a general newsworthiness exemption since 2016. But it garnered attention in 2019 when Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs and communications, announced that speech from politicians will be treated as newsworthy content that should, as a general rule, be seen and heard.
The newsworthiness exemption, he explained in a blog post at the time, meant that if someone makes a statement or shares a post which breaks our community standards we will still allow it on our platform if we believe the public interest in seeing it outweighs the risk of harm.
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After six-year cancer battle, Chhattisgarh man cracks UPSC exam in third attempt
Mahasamund (PTI): Overcoming a six-year battle with cancer and resigning from three jobs, Sanjay Dahariya from Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district has secured the 946th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025 in his third attempt.
The 38-year-old son of a farmer from Beltukri has brought immense pride and joy to his family and the people of his village.
Dahariya's academic journey began at a local government school, but it took a significant turn when he was selected for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Mana (Raipur), in Class 5.
The path to the civil services was fraught with professional and personal hurdles for Dahariya.
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After a stint with the State Bank of India in West Bengal from 2009 to 2011, he resigned to focus on higher goals. However, in 2012, he was diagnosed with cancer in the salivary glands, leading to a gruelling treatment that lasted six years.
Undeterred, Dahariya, who also suffers from a minor vision impairment, continued his pursuit of civil services and kept his career on track with another stint at a bank in Raipur and at the Mahasamund Post Office.
He began appearing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2022, dedicating himself entirely towards his goal, striking gold in the third attempt in 2025.
"I hope to serve the country through the civil services. Whether I secure an IAS cadre or another service, my commitment to public service remains firm," Dahariya said, crediting his success to the unwavering support of his family and mentors during his illness.
Mahasamund Collector Vinay Kumar Langeh and District Education Officer Vijay Kumar Lahare congratulated Dahariya, hailing his achievement, which serves as an example for courage and perseverance.
