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Can’t Please ‘Em All: Trump Bolsters Conservative Pundits After Facebook Ban

US President Donald Trump has avowed his unwavering support for conservative media persons recently banned from Facebook.
Sputnik

Facebook earlier this week banned several conservative figures from its platform after saying that it has clearly-stated policies to prevent "dangerous individuals and organizations" from spreading their beliefs, policies and opinions.

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Trump has now entered the hotly-contested debate by complaining of censorship by Facebook, in over a dozen tweets posted Friday night and Saturday morning decrying the new ban, according to CNN.

"It's getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!" the president complained.

Following an initial outcry from some conservative commentators in the mainstream media, Facebook spokespersons were quick to assert that the bans were not tied to politics and ideology, pointing out instead the necessity of banning users whose actions or opinions are unsafe.

"We've always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology," noted an unnamed Facebook spokesperson following the Thursday announcement of the bans, according to CNN.

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The Facebook bans took down the accounts of a wide range of characters including InfoWars host Alex Jones, Paul Nehlen and Louis Farrakhan, as well as attention-getters Laura Loomer, Milo Yiannopoulos and Paul Joseph Watson.

While Jones and his conspiracy theory website had previously been banned by Facebook, the personality continued to enjoy the use of an Instagram account, a social media platform owned by Facebook.

Trump on Friday night tweeted his complaint of Watson's ban and retweeted a video made by Watson complaining about the move and other Facebook users, including one calling itself ‘Deep State Exposed.'

As social media companies begin to take seriously the accusations against them of permitting toxic messaging, racism and hate speech on their platforms, GOP lawmakers have increasingly complained of censorship and bias.

The president's Twitter posts claimed that pro-Trump supporters had been "treated so horribly by Facebook" that he was "looking into" the ban, as previously reported by Sputnik.

Trump's Twitter feed was aglow as he said: "Why is @nytimes, @washingtonpost, @CNN, @MSNBC allowed to be on Twitter & Facebook. Much of what they do is FAKE NEWS!"

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