Twitter shares under pressure after blocking of Trump account
The blocking of US President-elect Donald Trump's user accounts on Twitter is hitting the short message service. Shares listed in Frankfurt fell by up to eight percent on Monday after the service permanently blocked Trump accounts on Friday evening.
Shares also fell by around seven percent in pre-market US trading. With the exclusion, Trump lost his most important means of communication shortly before the end of his term in office. Stock market participants expected a negative impact for Twitter.
"Expect a slight drop in users, though erosion of engagement is a bigger issue," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note. Far-right groups rely heavily on digital platforms such as Parler, Gab, MeWe, Zello and Telegram, and may be breaking away from the leading social media channels.
Furthermore, Twitter could face additional costs if content uploaded by users is to be moderated to a greater extent. This could benefit Facebook, according to Bernstein analysts, as Facebook already employs significantly more people than Twitter to review posts. Facebook has also suspended Trump's account until at least the end of his term as president.
The background to Trump's exclusion on social media channels is the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters last week. Five people - including a police officer - died in connection with the riots, which caused horror around the world. Trump had earlier called on his supporters to march to the Capitol, where the election of his rival Joe Biden was about to be officially certified. Twitter feared further incitement to violence and responded by blocking Trump's access. (SDA)
