World

Mexican President Calls Blocks on Trump's Social Media ‘Bad Sign’

MEXCIO CITY (Sputnik) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has called social media blocks on incumbent US leader Donald Trump a "bad sign" for freedom, expressing "serious" concerns about the private tech companies' might to "silence and censor."
Sputnik

"What was done a few days ago in the United States is a bad sign. Private companies decide [whom] to silence and censor. This does not bode well and is contrary to freedom. Isn't a world government being created with the power over social networks, the power over global media? And [it is] also a court of censorship, like the Holy Inquisition, to manage public opinion. This is very serious," Lopez Obrador said at a Friday press conference, published on his social media accounts.

Commenting on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s statement on an indefinite block on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, the president described this stance as "arrogant" and the one overstepping the social network executive's authority.

"As for his rules, what about freedom and the right to information, as well as the role of legitimate and legally established authorities?" he wondered.

Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram have blocked Trump's accounts in the wake of the January 6 Capitol Hill riots. The reason was Trump’s video and text appeals to the protesters who seized the Capitol building in Washington to prevent Congress from certifying the Joe Biden election victory. Calling on them to behave peacefully and go home, Trump, however, reiterated 2020 election fraud allegations.

Discuss