Twitter really wants you to know that it will only be good after you ban former President Donald Trump from the platform in January.
In its earnings report on Tuesday, the company made a unique announcement about the growth of users in the current quarter, saying that despite “unusual circumstances” during the month, it saw above-average growth.
Although Twitter did not explicitly say what those ‘unusual circumstances’ were, it is not difficult to find out. Twitter permanently banned Trump on Jan. 8 after he continued to post messages on Jan. 6 that encouraged and defended the riot at the U.S. Capitol. The company also banned thousands of accounts linked to the Qanon movement at the same time.
Twitter shares rose as much as 13% on Wednesday morning.
Twitter’s bans on Trump and Qanon led to fears that the company’s fate was linked to Trump and his followers and that the ban would harm future growth. But the company went the extra mile on Tuesday to show that Trump was not the only major power user on the platform.
“We are a platform that is obviously much bigger than any topic or one account,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Tuesday on the company’s earnings call.
He also pointed out the dozens of accounts that have millions of followers and that 80% of all users are outside the US
“We have a global service. We are also not just dependent on just news and politics that drive Twitter,” Dorsey said.
What Trump will return to Twitter one day, the company’s chief financial officer Ned Segal said on Wednesday was not an option. Segal told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday that Trump will never be allowed to return to the site, even if he decides to host him again.