Has Trump abused social media?

For years, Twitter was Donald Trump’s go-to platform to promote his policies, attack his critics and to spread misinformation.

But on Friday, Twitter said enough, and permanently suspended his account, due to a risk of further incitement of violence.

That is the president of the United States, banned, for encouraging violence in his own country.

Social media platforms were under growing pressure to take action against Trump after hundreds of his supporters stormed Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

But is that a crackdown on freedom of speech?

And how has social media helped those in power push their agendas?

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria

Guests

Jim Anderson – CEO of SocialFlow, a tech company specialising in distributing social media content

Claire Wardle – US branch director at First Draft, a nonprofit aimed at tackling misinformation globally

Mark Douglas – CEO and founder of the ad-tech firm, Steelhouse