In the latest deplatforming of President Trump, Snap said Wednesday that it will permanently ban his account on Snapchat in the “interest of public safety.”
The move by Snap to boot Trump from the social app comes after Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Twitch and other internet platforms have issued similar bans. YouTube yesterday suspended Trump’s channel for seven days for a video violating its policies prohibiting incitement to violence.
News of Snapchat’s ban of Trump comes as he became the first American president in history to be impeached twice, over his involvement in inciting a mob of rioters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
“Last week we announced an indefinite suspension of President Trump’s Snapchat account, and have been assessing what long-term action is in the best interest of our Snapchat community,” a Snapchat rep said in a statement to Variety. “In the interest of public safety, and based on his attempts to spread misinformation, hate speech, and incite violence, which are clear violations of our guidelines, we have made the decision to permanently terminate his account.”
In June 2020, Snap first took action against Trump’s account by no longer promoting his posts on its Discover platform, citing his rhetoric inciting violence and hate amid nationwide protests over George Floyd’s murder.
Since then, according to Snap, Trump has tried — dozens of times — to violate Snapchat’s community guidelines and terms of service, which among other things prohibit the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and the glorification or incitement of violence. Snap said it removed the offending content posted by Trump each time and issued warnings to the president’s team.
Snap noted that, unlike other social media apps, Snapchat does not offer an unmoderated open news feed where unvetted individuals or organizations can broadcast misinformation to a wide audience. On Snapchat Discover, according to the company, the app prioritizes factual news and information from trusted media publishers and content creators.
Snapchat’s permanent ban on Trump was first reported by Axios. Snap had already suspended his account last week in the wake of the deadly U.S. Capitol attack (meaning Trump has been unable to post to Snapchat); officially, his account will be terminated on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.