May 6 (UPI) — Twitter on Thursday suspended a new account created to share statements from former President Donald Trump, saying it violated the social media company’s policy on banned users.
The new account, @DJTDesk, appeared on Twitter this week, apparently as a way to get around the network’s permanent ban on Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The biography on the @DJTDesk said the account would include “posts copied from Save America on behalf of the 45th POTUS; Originally composed via DonaldJTrump.com/Desk.” The account wasn’t directly run by Trump, the former president’s spokesman, Jason Miller, said.
A Twitter representative told NBC News that, “as stated in our ban evasion policy, we’ll take enforcement action on accounts whose apparent intent is to replace or promote content affiliated with a suspended account.”
The Twitter account appeared to include posts from the website Trump established Tuesday to share his public statements after various social media companies banned him from having accounts. The site, “From the desk of Donald J. Trump,” features statements Trump has made dating back to March of this year.
The site does not provide any way for users to respond to or otherwise interact with Trump’s posts. It does include the option to share his statements to Twitter and Facebook as well as sign up for updates and contribute to Trump’s “Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.”
Twitter’s removal of the new account came one day after the Facebook Oversight Board ruled to continue its ban on Trump, which also came in response to the Capitol attack. The ban also goes for Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.
“The board has upheld Facebook’s decision on Jan. 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump’s access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account,” the board wrote.
“However, it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension. Facebook’s normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account.
“The board insists that Facebook review this matter to determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform. Facebook must complete its review of this matter within six months.”
