Issue:

Muslim Advocates: Ignore Trump’s Cynical Social Media Lawsuit

WASHINGTON, DC — On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced a class action lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and Google/YouTube for banning his accounts. Muslim Advocates called on all three platforms to permanently ban Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and also criticized Facebook for reversing their ban. We are also suing Facebook for deceiving consumers by claiming that the company prohibits hateful, anti-Muslim content on the platform—content that often leads to real-world violence. The following is a statement from Muslim Advocates Senior Policy Counsel Madihha Ahussain:

“Donald Trump’s lawsuit is a sham and a distraction from the real issue at hand: the fact that his social media accounts helped inspire the deadly Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol. For years, Trump and his allies have spun a false tale about social media companies’ bias against conservatives—all with the goal of pressuring the platforms into giving them a license to spread hate and misinformation. And for nearly all of his presidency, those companies gave him that license with disastrous results. 

On Facebook, Trump’s campaign ran a false, inflammatory ad linking Muslim and African immigrants to COVID-19. On Twitter, Trump shared an edited video that falsely linked Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar with 9/11, causing her to receive death threats. And on all platforms, Trump spread false conspiracies about the presidential election that heavily inspired the deadly Jan. 6 riot. Each of these examples should have gotten him banned but Facebook and Twitter still waited nearly four years, when Trump was nearly out of office, to finally enforce their policies and ban him.

To date, Trump is still downplaying his leading role in the Jan. 6 riot and is still spreading false conspiracies about that tragic event and about the election. This latest in a long line of Trump lawsuits is yet more dangerous hot air.”

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Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination.