Facebook Won't Be Trump's Salvation

The social network has lost its premier position as a shaper of political discourse

- Joshua Green

Meta Platforms Inc.’s announcement on Jan. 25 that it will allow Donald Trump back onto Facebook and Instagram— ending his two-year suspension for “acts of incitement” tied to the Capitol riots in 2021—was met with all the expected furor from Democrats.

Representative Adam Schiff of California called Trump’s reinstatement “dangerous.” In a public letter to Nick Clegg, Meta’s president for global affairs, Schiffand Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island slammed the company’s decision as “inexplicable” and insisted “his account should not have been reinstated.” Most public criticism focused on a concern that Trump could use his 34 million Facebook followers to sow further violence and misinformation. Privately, Democrats fear it could supercharge his 2024 presidential campaign. Many still attribute his upset of Hillary Clinton in 2016 to Facebook-enabled online skulduggery.

Yet for all the controversy surrounding Trump’s potential return, Facebook is unlikely to be his salvation in 2024. Much of what made his campaign’s use of the platform so innovative and effective has changed, as other politicians caught up and Facebook responded to criticism by cracking down on several of his methods. Experts point out that Facebook is no longer the political weapon it was during Trump’s rise, because the platform has chosen to deemphasize politics. “It’s not as powerful an organic sharing tool as it was in 2016 or even 2020,” says Kyle Tharp, a former political strategist and author of the FWIW newsletter, which tracks digital politics.