Trump's Back On Facebook And Instagram — For Real

Meta Platforms Inc META has brought back to life the suspended Facebook and Instagram accounts for former President Donald Trump.

What Happened: Trump’s Facebook account, as well as his Instagram, were active at the time of writing, Benzinga confirmed.

Trump doesn’t appear to have posted on both accounts since they were suspended soon after the Jan.6, 2021 insurrection.

Screenshot of Trump's Facebook page

On the Facebook platform, Trump has 34 million followers, while on Instagram he has over 23 million followers.

Screenshot of Trump's Instagram page

Why It Matters: It was reported earlier that the former president’s return to the platforms run by the Mark Zuckerberg-led company was imminent.

According to a prior report, Trump had been talking about the return for weeks and his campaign had asked Meta for a meeting to discuss the comeback.

His comeback on Meta’s platforms could lead to collateral damage to his own Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social and is set to go public via the special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp DWAC.

In November, Twitter CEO Elon Musk restored Trump’s account on that platform following a poll.

Price Action: On Thursday, Meta shares closed 3% lower at $177.92 and fell another 0.5% in the after-hours trading. On the same day, Digital World shares rose 2.5% in after-hours trading to $15.50 after dropping 3.3% in regular trading to $15.12, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Next: Mike Pence Subpoenaed By Special Counsel Looking Into Trump's Role In Jan. 6 Riots