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Facebook and Twitter block Trump for breaking rules

Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2020.

Photo credit: Mandel Ngan | AFP

By  AFP

San Francisco

Facebook barred US President Donald Trump from posting Wednesday over messages it said were promoting violence as his supporters stormed the US Capitol — following a similar stand taken by Twitter.

The sanctions came after the president took to social media to issue a series of false claims — including in a short video — about the election he lost to Joe Biden having been stolen from him.

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"We made the decision that on balance these posts contribute to, rather than diminish, the risk of ongoing violence," Facebook said.

The California-based social media giant said it was handing Trump "a 24-hour feature block" preventing him from posting.

Twitter blocked Trump earlier on Wednesday and threatened a permanent ban for breaking its own rules with his false claims about the election.

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