Donald Trump is allowed to tweet again, but still keeps his hands off it. But can the former US president-wish-to-be-again resist the temptation?
Does Donald Trump’s return to Twitter mean a comeback of “covfefe”? Possibly the enigmatic neologism, , illustrates most impressively the importance that was once attached to his constantly agitated short messages, no matter how meaningless they may have been.
At the time, the seemingly arbitrary word monster occupied editorial offices around the world trying to interpret the jumble of letters. What could the president have meant after four months in office? The Cyptic tweet, until it was deleted, was “six hours and three minutes of internet chaos”, as it was to state years later. To this day there is no reliable answer to the question of what “covfefe” could have meant, in any case it remains guilty.
Of course, there have been far more controversial tweets from the former president, who sometimes or , and with far greater repercussions. Eventually, he was banned from short messaging after showing goodwill for his rampaging supporters who violently stormed the Capitol in Washington in January 2021. The “risk of further incitement to violence” is too great.
Now is back, at least in theory. The profile of the ex-president has been activated again since Sunday, but (yet) nothing more than a time capsule: Trump has not touched the keys since then, his last visible tweet is dated January 8, 2021. In it he announced that that Joe Biden’s inauguration would take place without his presence.
Doesn’t he want to go back? And if so, what is he waiting for? Again a wordy debate takes its course as to the scope of the maximum of 280 slim characters from Trump, who is no longer President of the United States. And again, the collective anxiety is great: will Trump and hate comments return in compact bites?
“Hotbed of hatred, harassment and hate speech”
Some call it so, others so. Trump says: “I see no reason for it”. A comeback on Twitter without completely ruling it out. He wants to remain loyal to Truth Social, which he believes already has better user retention and is doing “phenomenally well.”
Trump created the alternative network specifically to make up for the loss of his presence on Twitter, Facebook and other channels – and to spread his own truth. “We live in a world where the Taliban have a huge presence on Twitter, but your favorite American President has been silenced”.
Trump has 4.6 million followers on the platform, on which his fans, conservatives and right-wingers in particular have been shooting freely ever since. In September, the website had around 1.7 million visitors from the United States, , and is therefore not suitable for Trump as a powerful multiplier of his views. On Twitter, on the other hand, around 89 million accounts followed what the former president was up to. Now, with the lockdown lifted, it’s only slightly less at 87.3 million.
It is therefore possible that, with a view to his presidential candidacy, Trump will again use the megaphone that was once taken from his hand to spread his views to the masses. If he shares the content he’s trumpeting on Truth Social there, he could turn Twitter into a “hotbed of hate, harassment and hate speech,” said Joan Donovan, a Harvard researcher Joan Shorenstein Center in Cambridge researches, among other things, misinformation.
A return to Twitter would also likely give his personal brand a boost, she said, allowing him to reach a much broader and more influential audience. “The difference between Twitter and Truth Social isn’t just a matter of scale. It’s a matter of influence — global leaders, journalists, celebrities, cultural workers, these are the people who are on Twitter,” Donovan said. Even if Trump simply tweeted links to his posts on Truth Social, it would strengthen his brand.
Donald Trump and Twitter, an unholy alliance
However, the hands of the former president are apparently tied, at least to a certain extent. Trump has a financial interest in Truth Social and, according to a decision by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is contractually obligated to make his posts exclusively on Truth Social for six hours. That reported the . However, he can immediately post on any website if the news relates to political messages, calls for donations or initiatives to vote. How narrow or broad the definition can be interpreted is unclear. Truth Social did not respond to a statement to the newspaper.
The renowned journalist Kara Swisher, who is considered a proven expert on social networks and the tech industry, says: Trump’s return to Twitter makes no difference. His “truths” are already being shared on Twitter without his doing anything. Nevertheless, he probably won’t be able to resist getting involved there himself, she said in the . “I don’t think it makes a difference. Besides, he’s the former president, so it won’t take that.”
Brian L. Ott is clearly more pessimistic. In one, the communication scientist warns of the Missouri State University and author to prepare for the worst.
“As someone who has studied Mr. Trump’s Twitter use prior to his election to the presidency, I believe his return will reflect the increased dissemination of misinformation and disinformation, demeaning and dehumanizing discourse, hate speech, and the erosion of democratic norms and institutions would mean,” writes Ott. The “probability of political violence” could also increase.
The scientist writes of an unholy alliance that Trump and Twitter form and make it so dangerous: The strict limitation to 280 characters practically does not allow any thoughtful or sustained discussions on serious topics, so it is only suitable for “broadly and quickly communicating simple messages “. One of Trump’s prime disciplines, because its hyperfocused content was misleading or simply wrong.
“Put simply,” Ott writes, “when you’re surrounded by dry kindling, add an accelerant, and strike a match, a conflagration is the predictable event.”
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Source: Stern
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