Meta will pay President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a lawsuit over the company’s decision to “indefinitely” ban him from Facebook and Instagram in 2021, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
Trump sued Meta in 2021 after he was removed from its platforms. Mark Zuckerberg, at the time, said “the risks” of keeping the president on Facebook and Instagram were “simply too great.” Meta later reinstated Trump’s accounts in 2023.
The settlement includes $22 million that will go towards funding a Trump presidential library, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Zuckerberg has looked to improve his relationship with the president following the 2024 election, including visiting Mar-a-Lago and having Meta donate $1 million to his inauguration fund. The billionaire was also prominently featured behind President Trump at his inauguration, sitting alongside other Big Tech executives like X owner Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Despite his cozier relationship with the president, many Trump supporters told TheWrap last week they are skeptical of Zuckerberg’s sudden embrace of the president.
TheWrap has reached out to legal representatives on both sides for further comment.
