Ex president Donald Trump was banned from several social media platforms after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Here’s a look at what’s next for Trump in the world of social media, and how investors would have invested in the social media stocks that stopped the former president.
What happened: Social media platform Twitter Inc TWTR announced the permanent ban of Donald Trump on January 8, 2021. The ban came after the social media platform highlighted Trump’s role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and the potential for more violence.
“After closely reviewing recent tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context surrounding them — specifically how they are received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further inciting violence,” Twitter said. . in that time.
Trump could be welcomed back to the Twitter platform if Tesla Inc TSLA CEO, of Elon Musk the purchase of the platform, which is in the judicial process, is realized. Musk has been a proponent of free speech on the platform and said permanent bans should be “extremely rare” and reserved for spammy accounts.
“I think it was wrong to ban Donald Trump,” Musk said. “I think that was a mistake, because it alienated a lot of the country, and ultimately it didn’t result in Donald Trump not having a voice,” Musk said.
Before his Twitter suspension, Trump had 89 million followers, which would rank him eighth on the platform today.
Facebookowned by Meta Platforms METAannounced a ban on Trump on January 7, 2021. The company later announced that the ban would be for two years and would end in a decision issued on June 4, 2021. Facebook recently said it would not review its two-year ban until on January 7, 2023.
While Trump is banned from posting on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, he can post on Social Trutha platform owned by him Trump Media and Technology Group. Known as TMTG, the company announced a deal with the SPAC Digital World Acquisition Corp DWAC at the end of 2021.
Truth Social and Digital World Acquisition faces challenges ahead with several investigations related to the platform and news released Thursday that the trademark for Truth Social was denied by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Digital World Acquisition also has an upcoming meeting of shareholders to vote on an extension of the SPAC’s term. Without an extension, the company will have until March to complete its merger or face liquidation.
Here’s a look at how Twitter, Meta Platforms and Digital World Acquisition performed.
Related: Donald Trump adds the Patent Office to the list of government agencies he’s fighting
Invest $1,000 in TWTR, META, DWAC: Twitter announced a permanent ban on Trump on Jan. 8 after the market closed. An investment of $1,000 on the following Monday (January 11, 2021) opening could have bought 21.24 shares. The $1,000 investment would be worth $871.90 today, a 12.8% drop.
Meta Platforms announced Trump’s ban on January 7, 2021. A $1,000 investment at the time could have bought 3.76 shares. The $1,000 investment would be worth $634.61 today, a 36.5% drop.
Trump’s ban is probably not the only reason companies have seen stocks fall, with big tech stocks seeing declines in 2022 on macro issues and earnings.
On the other hand, an investor who bought shares of Digital World Acquisition after the SPAC deal was announced might have done better.
The SPAC deal was announced after the market closed on October 20, 2021. A $1,000 investment in Digital World Acquisition stock at the open on October 21, 2021 could have bought 78.55 shares. The $1,000 investment would be worth $2,310.94 today, a 131% increase.
Photo via Shutterstock.