Former president D. Trump launches his own "social media platform"

From the Desk of Donald J. Trump – a new platform launched by the former president

A new platform for the ex-president to reach his audience

On May 4th, 2021, a new social media platform has been launched. The 45th president of the United States has created his own “communication platform” that can be accessed through his website and, according to him, is “a place to speak freely and safely.”^[1] But from the first look, it seems that this platform is nothing more but a blog, as its users can't engage the former president or interact in any way.

Although people can sign up to receive notifications on their phones or emails whenever the ex-president posts something new, users can also share posts from the new platform on Twitter and Facebook. However, according to some reports,^[2] the former option, along with the heart button (very similar to the one on Twitter), doesn't work.

Since the launch of “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” new posts are created at least a few times a day. Even though the site was launched on Tuesday, people can find entries dating back to March 24, 2021. The website allows Trump to post not only comments but also images and videos.

The new platform is a result of the president's banishment from other social media platforms

The “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” communication platform creation roots are not that difficult to figure out. President Trump was banned from his favorite social media Twitter, and others like Facebook, Instagram in January after his supporters pillaged the Capitol building.

Big media companies rarely want to associate themselves with events that put people's public safety at risk, and Trump's actions are believed to be one of the main causes for the attack occurring in the first place. Twitter has announced the following upon permanently banning D. Trump from accessing the platform again:^[3]

After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.

The angry pro-Trump supporter mob interrupted Congress’ certification of Joe Biden as the President-Elect. The attack left 5 people dead and hundreds injured. It's called “The Most Documented Crime in History”, ^[4] and the arrest count is still rising as more than 370 have already been charged. In his second impeachment, Mr. Trump was acquitted from all charges for inciting insurrection at Capitol Hill.

Trump's new platform launched a day before a review on his Facebook ban

While Twitter has banned the former president from using the platform ever again, Facebook's permanent suspension was reviewed on May 5th, 2021. According to some sources, the companies Oversight Board has upheld the ban but urged to review whether the ban can be permanent.

They urged to treat Mr. Trump as other Facebook users, to whom a permanent suspension is not an option. That means that the former president could return to Facebook and Instagram after a review of his ban within six months. As soon as the “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” platform was launched, new Twitter handles started sharing his posts.

The first spotted account was @DJTDesk and was immediately taken down. Twitter representatives said that it violated the rules of the platform by having affiliations with a suspended account. According to BBC,^[5] at least four more accounts share the president's posts, and all of them are still active.