Donald Trump has threatened so-called “election fraudsters”, including Meta creator Mark Zuckerberg, with jail time in a post to his own social media platform, Truth Social.
The post was in reference to the SAVE Act, a piece of legislation that is being pushed by the Republican Party that will make it illegal for undocumented immigrants to vote in federal elections. Despite numerous studies proving that there is no widespread fraud occurring in the U.S. electoral system, Trump is still pushing for the legislation to be passed, calling the Democrats “cheaters”.
“The Dems can’t win on their policies; the only way they can win is to CHEAT. They do it at every level of government, and they do it well”.
“All I can say is that if I’m elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time,” Trump wrote. “We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!”
This is the first time the former President has called for Zuckerberg’s imprisonment or questioned the platform’s involvement in the 2020 election. Back in February 2023, in a post on Truth Social, he called for the Meta boss’ prosecution. “He cheated on the Election(s). The whole system is RIGGED. Why isn’t he being prosecuted? The Democrats only know how to cheat. America isn’t going to take it much longer!”
Trump famously damned Facebook and other social platforms after his 2020 loss for what he perceived as censorship and suppression of conservative voices. These claims were part of a broader narrative that included allegations of widespread voter fraud and irregularities, which Trump and his legal team sought to challenge through various legal avenues following the election.
Meta has consistently denied any involvement in Trump’s loss and Biden’s win. Facebook and Instagram’s political advertising policies claim that it ensures unbiased political ads by enforcing transparency and accountability from advertisers. This involves a comprehensive authorisation process for those wanting to run ads related to social issues, elections, or politics, ensuring they disclose who paid for the ad. Regardless of authorisation status, all political ads are added to the Ad Library for public scrutiny. The platform limits specific ad placements and formats to prevent undue influence or targeting. Regular policy reviews and updates further aim to uphold fairness and integrity in political advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
While some support Trump’s claims and others call it simply a mindless rant, many fear that the former president, who has repeatedly threatened action against officials and public figures who have spoken out against him, holds beliefs that could pose a potential threat to the future of democracy across the world.
A recent survey from Data for Progress, in collaboration with Zeteo, examined the state of the 2024 presidential election race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, voters’ opinions on Trump’s legal woes, and which of the two candidates they think is a greater threat to democracy. As of May 2024, the majority of voters (51%), including 53% of Independents, said that Trump poses a more significant threat to American democracy, compared with 44% who said Biden poses a more significant threat.
In fact, in contradiction to Trump’s claims, a study conducted by Stanford University, Meta and other institutions in response to the 2020 election found that staying off Facebook and Instagram had nearly zero effect — at least in the short term — on how people viewed the candidates, whether they turned out to vote and how they perceived the legitimacy of the election.
“These findings are consistent with previous publications in this study in showing little impact on key political attitudes, beliefs or behaviours,” said Meta in response to the findings. An earlier set of findings also concluded that Facebook had “significant ideological segregation” and that it was actually conservative sources that dominated its news ecosystem.
According to recent polling, Trump currently leads President Joe Biden in the presidential race. The former president is currently sitting at 42.1%, whereas Biden is at 39.9%. Independent nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is at 9.5%.
