YouTube restores Donald Trump's channel
The Hindu
YouTube benched Trump days after the January 6, 2021 insurrection, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
YouTube is reinstating former U.S. president Donald Trump's account, the video-sharing platform said on Friday, more than two years after he was banned over the U.S. Capitol insurrection.
The 76-year-old Republican leader — who is running for president again — has been unable to post any content and his 2.6 million followers were blocked from commenting on old videos.
YouTube benched Trump days after the January 6, 2021 insurrection, when a mob of his supporters seeking to halt the certification of his election defeat to Joe Biden stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
He was suspended for posting content that the platform said incited unrest, adding that he would be allowed to return when "the risk of violence has decreased."
The former reality TV star had spent weeks falsely claiming that the presidential election was stolen from him and he was subsequently impeached for inciting the riot.
"Starting today, the Donald J. Trump channel is no longer restricted and can upload new content," YouTube said in a statement.
"We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election."