Donald Trump returns to Facebook two years after ban over Jan 6 riot: ‘I’m back!’

Former president announced his return to Facebook on Friday with a video after the social media giant reinstated him.

The former president announced his return with a video showing his victory in the 2016 election where he said “Sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business.”

“I’M BACK!” Mr Trump said in a video description.

Facebook, along with other social media giants such as YouTube and Twitter, initially banned the former president for his actions on January 6. Instagram, which Facebook’s parent company Meta owns, also banned him.

Since then, Mr Trump has mostly communicated through his Truth Social networking platform.

But in recent months, many of the social media giants reinstated Mr Trump. Elon Musk, who took over Twitter in October, reinstated the former president after conducting a poll.

On Friday, YouTube announced that it would reinstate Mr Trump.

“Starting today, The Donald J. Trump channel is no longer restricted and the ability to upload new content is restored,” said Leslie Miller, Youtube’s vice president for public policy,” Leslie Miller, YouTube’ vice president for public policy, said in a statement.

“We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, balancing that with the importance of preserving the opportunity for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election,” she added. “This channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.”