Facebook set to decide Wednesday whether to reinstate Trump

Facebook is set to make a decision Wednesday on whether to allow former President Trump to rejoin the social media platform, after suspending his accounting for what it considered posts that incited violence and led to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The decision will be made by Facebook’s quasi-independent oversight board.

Facebook and Instagram shuttered Trump's accounts on Jan. 7, saying he’d be suspended "at least" through the end of his presidency, according to the Associated Press. 

The reinstatement would be a significant boost in Trump’s efforts to continue to connect with supporters, without the megaphone of the presidency. 

However, Trump is still under a permanent ban from Twitter, his favorite and most impactful social media site, for a ruling similar to Facebook's. Twitter does not have such an oversight board. 

The Facebook decision this week is expected to be met with opinions across the political spectrum, amid conservatives' argument that Big Tech has attempted to silence or at least minimize a their voices. 

Facebook created the panel to make rulings on contentious content, in response to criticism about its inability to respond to misinformation, hate speech and nefarious influence campaigns. 

The 20-member board includes a former prime minister of Denmark, the former editor-in-chief of the Guardian newspaper, along with legal scholars, human rights experts and journalists, the wire service also reports.

The first four board members were directly chosen by Facebook. They then worked with Facebook to select more members. Facebook pays each board member a salary.

The board’s independence has been questioned by critics who say it’s a Facebook public relations campaign, the Associated Press also reports.