Former President Donald Trump was banned from several social media platforms in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Here’s a look at what’s next for Trump in the social media world and how investors would have done investing in social media stocks that banned the former president.
What Happened: Social media platform Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) announced a permanent ban of Donald Trump on Jan. 8, 2021. The ban came after the social media platform pointed to Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the potential for more violence.
“After close review of recent tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them – specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter – we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said at the time.
Trump could be welcomed back to the Twitter platform if Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform, which is in litigation, comes to fruition. Musk has been a proponent of free speech on the platform and said permanent bans should be “extremely rare” and reserved for spam accounts.
“I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump,” Musk said. “I think that was a mistake, because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice,” Musk said.
Prior to his suspension on Twitter, Trump had 89 million followers, which would rank him eighth on the platform today.
Facebook, owned by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), announced a ban of Trump on Jan. 7, 2021. The company later announced the ban would be for two years and open-ended in a ruling issued on June 4, 2021. Facebook recently said it would not review its two-year ban until Jan. 7, 2023 at the earliest.
While Trump is banned from posting on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, he can make posts on Truth Social, a platform owned by his own Trump Media & Technology Group. Known as TMTG, the company announced a SPAC deal with Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DWAC) in late 2021.
Truth Social and Digital World Acquisition faces challenges ahead with several investigations tied to the platform and news out Thursday that the trademark for Truth Social was denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Digital World Acquisition also has an upcoming shareholder meeting to vote on an extension for the SPAC deadline. Without the 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 have performed.
Related Link: Donald Trump Added The Patent Office To List Of Government Agencies He's Fighting
Investing $1,000 in TWTR, META, DWAC: Twitter announced a permanent ban for Trump on Jan. 8 after the market close. A $1,000 investment on the following Monday (Jan. 11, 2021) at the open could have purchased 21.24 shares. The $1,000 investment would be worth $871.90 today, a 12.8% decline.
Meta Platforms announced a ban on Trump on Jan. 7, 2021. A $1,000 investment at the time could have purchased 3.76 shares. The $1,000 investment would be worth $634.61 today, a 36.5% decline.
Trump being banned is likely not the only reasons the companies have seen shares fall, with major technology stocks seeing drops in 2022 on macro issues and earnings.
On the flip side, an investor who purchased shares of Digital World Acquisition after the SPAC deal was announced could have done better.
The SPAC deal was announced after market close on Oct. 20, 2021. A $1,000 investment in Digital World Acquisition shares at open on Oct. 21, 2021 could have purchased 78.55 shares. The $1,000 investment would be worth $2,310.94 today, an increase of 131%.
Photo via Shutterstock.
