World

Donald Trump forced to commit to orderly transition of power via adviser after Twitter lockout

DONALD Trump was forced to commit to an orderly transition of power to Joe Biden through a statement from an adviser after being locked out of his social media accounts.

The president's deputy chief of staff for communications Dan Scavino tweeted a message from Mr Trump which said he "totally disagrees" with the election result but conceded there would be a smooth transfer to a Biden administration on January 20.

"I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted," he added.

"While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"

Mr Trump has previously used his own Twitter account to announce major political decisions, including policy changes and the hiring and firing of senior officials.

But social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, temporarily locked his accounts after he addressed supporters who stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday.

The president posted a video to protesters, urging them to go home, while also repeating claims of election fraud and telling them "We love you".

Twitter responded by locking his account for the first time and demanded he remove tweets excusing violence, while also threatening him with "permanent suspension".

Facebook announced that it had assessed two "policy violations" on Mr Trump's page and had blocked him from posting for 24 hours.

YouTube said it had also removed the video from Mr Trump's account for violating its policies on election integrity, and confirmed it would begin issuing "strikes" against the president's channel if any further breaches occurred.