Liberal social media furious after Wall Street Journal dares to allow Trump to attack Big Tech in scathing op-ed



Former President Donald Trump issued a scathing rebuke of Big Tech in an op-ed published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, detailing why he is suing Big Tech giants and how he believes certain corporations are complicit in squashing the speech and diverse ideas of everyday American people.

Liberal social media quickly went into a frenzy over the paper's decision to allow the former president to write a piece for its pages.

What are the details?

In his article "Why I'm Suing Big Tech," Trump explained that he believes Big Tech is working in tandem with the government to "censor the free speech of the American people."

"One of the gravest threats to our democracy today is a powerful group of Big Tech corporations that have teamed up with the government to censor the free speech of the American people," he wrote.

Pointing out that the very idea is not just wrong, but unconstitutional, the former president vowed, "To restore free speech for myself and for every American, I am suing Big Tech to stop it.

"Social media has become as central to free speech as town meeting halls, newspapers, and television networks were in prior generations," he continued. "The internet is the new public square."

Trump added that in recent years Big Tech platforms have been censoring Americans and discriminating against free speech by de-platforming, suspensions, and more, "controlling the political debate" in America.

"Consider content that was censored in the past year," he wrote. "Big Tech companies banned users from their platforms for publishing evidence that showed the coronavirus emerged from a Chinese lab, which even the corporate media now admits may be true."

He also pointed to Big Tech's censorship on hydroxychloroquine treatment for COVID-19 cases as well as how the mainstream media and social media networks appeared to quash reports about the laptop controversy surrounding President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, and more.

"Perhaps most egregious, in the weeks after the election, Big Tech blocked the social media accounts of the sitting president," Trump continued. "If they can do it to me, they can do it to you — and believe me, they are."

Pointing to his recent class-action lawsuit against Big Tech giants such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Trump added, "This flagrant attack on free speech is doing terrible damage to our country."

"The suit seeks damages to deter such behavior in the future and injunctions restoring my accounts.," he added.

In a Wednesday statement announcing the suit, the former president said, "I stand before you this morning to announce a very important and very beautiful, I think, development for our freedom and our freedom of speech. ... Today, in conjunction with the America First Policy Institute, I'm filing as the lead class action representative a major class action lawsuit against the Big Tech giants including Facebook, Google and Twitter, as well as their CEOs."

The lawsuit is seeking an immediate injunction to stop social media platforms from what he says is the "illegal, shameful censorship of the American people."

"Our case will prove this censorship is unlawful, it's unconstitutional, and it's completely un-American," Trump added.

Trump, concluding the op-ed, warned that Democrats are coordinating with Big Tech to suppress any nonconformist thought from social media platforms.

"This coercion and coordination is unconstitutional," he insisted. "The Supreme Court has held that Congress can't use private actors to achieve what the Constitution prohibits it from doing itself. In effect, Big Tech has been illegally deputized as the censorship arm of the U.S. government. This should alarm you no matter your political persuasion. It is unacceptable, unlawful and un-American."

What are people saying?

One user complained, "Trump screams 'I AM BEING CENSORED!' from the editorial page of a mainstream international media outlet. Shame on you, @WSJ, shame on you, @WSJopinion."

Another added, "It's not the biggest takeaway from Trump's op-ed (the biggest has to do with what WSJ opinion has become) but it was still perplexing to me that Trump's use of 'illegal alien' wasn't changed by an editor. AP stopped using the term in 2013, and many pubs have since followed suit."

"WSJ must know the case has no merit and is being used as a fundraising tool. You have some duty to your readers don't you? Maybe some duty to yourselves? Some code of ethics?" another fumed.

"And again, reminding me why I canceled my WSJ subscription," one user quipped.

Another took aim at the paper for not being "serious" or thoughtful."

"Future generations will marvel when we tell them the Wall Street Journal was once considered a serious, thoughtful newspaper," the user wrote.

Another snarked, "*NOTE* @WSJopinion is not @WSJ, rather more similar to right-wing propagandists such as @seanhannity and @OANN."

Report: Trump plans 'major announcement' regarding social media at a press conference Wednesday



Former President Donald Trump will reportedly make a "major announcement" during a press conference on Wednesday related to his plans for social media.

"Mr. Trump will have a major announcement about social media," said a source close to Trump to Newsmax.

The press conference is planned for 11 a.m. from the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. Newsmax will carry the briefing live.

The former president has teased plans for a new social media platform since he was banned by the major tech companies over accusations that he was inciting violence through his claims of a rigged election. Facebook has said they will reconsider their ban on Trump but Twitter has already said he will be banned for life.

A second source told Newsmax that Trump plans to address and confront the social media companies that banned him from their platforms.

Trump had previously promoted a personal message board in May in order to reach his millions of supporters but that website was eventually dismantled.

On Thursday, former Trump team members launched their new social media platform called Gettr, which was supposed to compete with Twitter, but the former president told the media that he was planning his own app. Gettr was briefly hacked within hours of being launched when someone was able to change screen names of famous accounts and post pro-Palestinian messages.

In March a source from the Trump team told Fox News that they were taking their time on the new social media platform because they'd only get one chance to get it right.

In an interview in February the former president told Newsmax that Twitter had become very boring and that he wouldn't return to it even if they lifted their permanent lifetime ban.

Here's more about Trump's social media app:

Trump to make his own social media platform: Sourceswww.youtube.com

Oversight board says Trump violated Facebook rules but company was wrong to 'indefinitely' suspend him



Former President Donald Trump will not be returning to Facebook in the immediate future after the company's oversight board upheld the decision to restrict Trump's access to his Facebook page and Instagram account.

However, the board also found that Facebook's decision to suspend Trump indefinitely was arbitrary and violated its own stated policies. It accused the company of applying a "vague, standardless penalty" on Trump and then seeking to avoid responsibility for its decision by handing the matter over to the oversight board. The board refused to tell Facebook what its policy should be and has ordered the company to review the matter and "justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform" within six months.

In a statement responding to the ruling, Trump accused big tech companies of suppressing free speech.

"What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and embarrassment to our Country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before," Trump said. "The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process."

The much-anticipated ruling creates a precedent for how Facebook will manage content from political leaders and may also create a framework for other social media platforms to follow.

Last year, Facebook spent $130 million to create and fund its independent oversight board, which is an international team of academics, law professors, journalists, human rights activists, and other experts with backgrounds related to global politics and digital content moderation. The purpose of the board is to review appeals to the social media platform's content moderation decisions and independently determine whether Facebook made the right decision according to its own policies. The board's decisions are binding, but Facebook is ultimately responsible for following the board's instructions.

On Wednesday, the oversight board ruled that Trump's social media posts on Jan. 6 during the violence at the U.S. Capitol "severely violated Facebook's Community Standards and Instagram's Community Guidelines," which prohibit praise or support of people engaged in violence.

"The Board found that, in maintaining an unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action, Mr. Trump created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible," the decision states. "At the time of Mr. Trump's posts, there was a clear, immediate risk of harm and his words of support for those involved in the riots legitimized their violent actions."

"Given the seriousness of the violations and the ongoing risk of violence, Facebook was justified in suspending Mr. Trump's accounts on January 6 and extending that suspension on January 7," the board said, but it added that "it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose an 'indefinite' suspension."

"It is not permissible for Facebook to keep a user off the platform for an undefined period, with no criteria for when or whether the account will be restored," the board explained before going on to criticize Facebook's actions.

In applying this penalty, Facebook did not follow a clear, published procedure. 'Indefinite' suspensions are not described in the company's content policies. Facebook's normal penalties include removing the violating content, imposing a time-bound period of suspension, or permanently disabling the page and account.

It is Facebook's role to create necessary and proportionate penalties that respond to severe violations of its content policies. The Board's role is to ensure that Facebook's rules and processes are consistent with its content policies, its values and its human rights commitments.

In applying a vague, standardless penalty and then referring this case to the Board to resolve, Facebook seeks to avoid its responsibilities. The Board declines Facebook's request and insists that Facebook apply and justify a defined penalty.

The board is requiring Facebook to undergo a review of its "arbitrary penalty" on Trump and within six months develop a clear and defined penalty for the former president consistent with its stated policies and "based on the gravity of the violation and the prospect of future harm."

In a statement responding to the decision, Facebook Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications Nick Clegg said Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts will remain suspended while the company reviews the board's decision.

"We will now consider the board's decision and determine an action that is clear and proportionate. In the meantime, Mr. Trump's accounts remain suspended," he said.

The board also called on Facebook to clarify how content moderation decisions on users with large audiences are made.

"Facebook should publicly explain the rules that it uses when it imposes account-level sanctions against influential users," the board said. It further recommended that Facebook specifically explain how it assigns strikes and penalties against users and provide users with accessible information on how many violations, strikes, and penalties have been assigned to them, among other recommendations.

Republicans were quick to attack the decision.

"Our right to freedom of speech comes from the Constitution, not Facebook's 'Oversight Board,'" RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted. "Big Tech has become an extension of the left's woke mob and Congress should hold them accountable."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) accused Facebook of "acting like a Democrat Super PAC" instead of "a platform for free speech and open debate."

"A House Republican majority will rein in big tech power over our speech," he said.

Facebook is more interested in acting like a Democrat Super PAC than a platform for free speech and open debate.I… https://t.co/uO7Yb34edW

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) 1620222045.0

Several Republican lawmakers called on Congress to break up Facebook's "monopoly" with an "antitrust agenda."

If Republicans take back power it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll go after Facebook in a concerted way this time. Here’… https://t.co/CJleurdwto

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) 1620224771.0

Facebook’s status as a monopoly has led its leaders to believe it can silence and censor Americans' speech with no… https://t.co/hgGVvSxlmI

— Congressman Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) 1620226985.0

Break them up. https://t.co/J6nnipCG6v

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) 1620221871.0

Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff under Trump, blasted the decision on Fox News, calling it a "sad day for America."

Mark Meadows' immediate reaction to Trump remaining banned: "It's a sad day for America. It's a sad day for Faceboo… https://t.co/XhfsSGUGFv

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) 1620221631.0

With conservative lawmakers infuriated over Facebook's decision, Meadows predicted that the "wild, wild West kind of regulatory environment" surrounding big tech companies is "going to change."