On Tuesday, November 12, 2022, former President, Donald Trump, announced his campaign for president of the United States at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. He hopes for “America to make a comeback.”
This announcement comes amid investigations surrounding the insurrection of January 6, 2021 and his handling of classified documents after his time in office.
Trump started by endorsing a number of candidates during midterms and recruiting candidates like Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Blake Masters in Arizona.
Trump was betting on Republican wins to serve as a launchpad for his 2024 presidential campaign, as stated in a press advisory he released early on November 8th, detailing how much he had done to help Republicans up and down the ballot. Although some of Trump’s midterm endorsements were victorious, most ended in defeat.
Many people wonder why Trump announced his candidacy so early. Some believe he wanted to take attention away from his failed endorsements, so that he would be viewed as the clear leader of the Republican Party, which will be crucial in his campaign, primary winner or not.
While Trump’s investigations, campaign, and influence carry on, he continues to connect to his audiences through various media platforms. Like most politicians, a significant way Trump reaches his audiences is through social media.
Trump was banned from Facebook in January 2021 as a result of the events from January 6th and has been banned since. The Meta Oversight Board determined that his suspension would be for a two-year period. Then, Meta would evaluate his suspension and consider allowing him back on the platform. This reevaluation will take place in January of 2023.
If Meta allows Trump back on Facebook, they will not be able to fact check him as of November 15, 2022. This decision, from a pre-existing rule that outlines political speech as ineligible for fact-checking, comes despite Trump’s previous spread of misinformation.
Since Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 Presidential election, he has officially become a politician in Meta’s eyes. Meta defines politicians as candidates running for office, current office holders as well as their cabinet appointees, and leaders of political parties.
Meta reminded employees of this rule hours before Trump announced his candidacy through a memo. In this, a Meta staffer states, “If former President Trump makes a clear, public announcement that he is running for office, he would be considered a politician under our program policies.”
Meta has enforced this rule because they believe that “it is not [their] role to intervene when politicians speak,” former UK politician and, now, Meta executive Nick Clegg said in 2019. Knowing this, many have noted that although they are exempt from being fact-checked on Facebook, not everything politicians, not only Trump but all politicians, say is true.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/facebook-fact-check-donald-trump
https://mashable.com/article/facebook-wont-fact-check-trump-2024
https://people.com/politics/donald-trump-announces-2024-presidential-campaign/