YouTube to let Trump channel post new content
YouTube announced Friday that it was lifting restrictions on former President Trump that will allow him to post new content on his YouTube channel as he makes his bid for reelection to the White House in 2024.
The restrictions had been imposed in response to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, which took place after Trump repeatedly made false claims about voter fraud related to his loss in the presidential election.
“We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, balancing that with the importance of preserving the opportunity for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election,” Leslie Miller, vice president of YouTube Public Policy, said in a statement.
“This channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.”
Unlike other platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, which removed Trump’s accounts after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, citing concerns about incitement of violence, YouTube left the channel up but restricted it from uploading new content.
The lifted restriction follows actions that other platforms have taken to restore Trump’s accounts.
Twitter, under new owner Elon Musk, restored the former president’s account in November.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, restored his accounts in February.
Despite regaining access to Facebook and Twitter, Trump has yet to post from his since restored accounts.