It is a new day and while most of us go about our daily business and sip our coffee, America awoke to a grey day. It has been just over 12 hours when insurgents attempted to usurp the role of the lawmakers of America by attempting to enter the Capitol and illegally overturn the vote of the people. Four people are dead and more then 50 police officers injured. All this simply because one selfish, corrupt and deranged individual refuses to listen to the will of the people.
World leaders condemned yesterdays actions and specifically took aim at Trump as it became clear that he was the direct cause of the horrors. Boris Johnson along with other leaders who had previously stood by Trump roundly and directly condemned him.
"Insofar as encouraging people to storm the Capitol and insofar as the president has consistently cast doubt on the outcome of a free and fair election, I believe that was completely wrong. I think what President Trump has been saying about that is completely wrong..." Boris Johnson, 06 January 2021
While the coming days will no doubt reveal a plethora of analysis on why what happened and the options the parliamentarians have to hold Trump & Co. accountable for the atrocities committed against the people of America on 06 January 2020, what has become clear is the digital world, particularly those who control the reigns at Facebook and Twitter, have a key role in shaping what people do in the real world.
For a long time, society has discussed the effects of these two social media giants and their effect on our children's behavior as well as its influence on what we do in the real world. And this is exactly what came to pass yesterday. The tweets and Facebook posts of Donald Trump broke the camels back, resulting in a large group of people making a full scale assault on the Capitol.
As a result of this gross abuse of social media for an attempted terrorist attack on the people of America, Mark Zuckerberg approved the blocking of Trumps Facebook account which will not be lifted until Joe Biden has been sworn into office. In a brief yet concise post, Facebook confirmed that the abuse of the freedom of speech given to Facebook users by Donald Trump would not be condoned. The resulting ban may extend indefinitely based on assessments made later.
"...the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor... we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete..." Mark Zuckerberg - 06 January 2021
Twitters Jack Dorsey also confirmed that Twitter has suspended Trumps account for 12 hours and would be applied again if necessary.
"This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked." Twitter Safety, January 7, 2021
It is apparent the social media leaders have realized their services are now being used by an extremely stupid yet powerful person to get people hyped up into a state of frenzy where they took the law into their own hands, resulting in four people losing their lives. The actions followed a torrent of criticism aimed at social media companies for their role in spreading misinformation and being a sounding platform for people such as Trump. Calls have been made to demand Trumps accounts not only be suspended, but disabled completely as it has become apparent he has no scruples using social media to wreak havoc onto the very people he took an oath to serve protect.
As this post is being written, Nancy Pelosi has advised that she will pursue impeachment if Trump’s cabinet does not strip him of powers through the invocation of the 25th Amendment. Mike Pence has signaled he is not in favor of undertaking this. The decision by Mr. Pence is said to be supported by several Trump cabinet officials. Only the coming days will truly show what options lawmakers have to hold Trump accountable for his actions of January 06 as either paths not only require significant support from key policy makers but also takes a lot of time to formulate and formalize.
Nonetheless, the people of America should look ahead and into the future when, in a few days, they will be rewarded with a new president who does not seek to abuse the power entrusted to him for personal gain. It is also an opportunity to reflect and determine how much influence these social media platforms have on our lives or more importantly, how much we're allowing these platforms to control our lives? It is definitely a time to reflect and review. We need to change as a society and realize that the digital world has enveloped us to the point where we live our life based on what others post. It is this danger we must recognize now and stop it from consuming us.
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