Episode description

The owner of Facebook - Meta - is reinstating Donald Trump’s account after a two-year suspension. The former US president was suspended from Facebook and Instagram after his posts were deemed to have encouraged the Capitol riots in 2021. In a statement Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said a review found Mr Trump's accounts were no longer a risk to public safety. Donald Trump pointed out that Facebook was in financial trouble and probably needed him back for the money it can raise.

Daily user numbers for Facebook grew to an average of two billion in December 2022 - about a quarter of the world's population. The bigger-than-expected growth helped drive new optimism about the company, which has been under pressure as its costs rise and advertising sales drop.

Where does the social media giant go from here? Does it have a future and clear direction of travel? How did it become so big? How does it work now and what does it do with our data? Also, when has it gone wrong and what are its challenges now?

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: is everything okay at Facebook?

Presented by Charmaine Cozier

Researcher John Cossee Producer Simon Coe Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator Brenda Brown

(Facebook symbol. Image credit: Dado Ruvić /Reuters)