Twitter stock plunges after Trump ban

Twitter’s stock plunged roughly 7 percent on Monday following the company’s decision Friday evening to permanently ban President Trump from the platform.

The declining share value puts the company on course to lose about $2.5 billion in market value, Reuters reported.

Twitter’s stock price decreased more than Facebook’s, which saw about a 3 percent drop Monday.

Facebook last week also took its greatest efforts against the president, suspending his account indefinitely, at least until President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

The financial hit to Twitter came on the first day of trading after the social media platform said it closed the president’s account because his posts pose “the risk of further incitement of violence.”

The moves by tech giants to rein in Trump’s social media presence were prompted by Wednesday’s deadly riot at the Capitol, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building as Congress was certifying Biden’s election win.

Trump has used social media to repeatedly spread election misinformation, making false claims about widespread voter fraud and a rigged election.

Shortly after Wednesday’s riot, Facebook and Twitter, along with Google-owned YouTube, took down Trump’s video that made more unsubstantiated claims about the presidential election.