Elon Musk Says He’s Granting ‘Amnesty’ For Nearly All Banned Twitter Accounts

The topline

Twitter owner Elon Musk on Thursday said he is granting “amnesty” for almost all banned accounts on the platform, a consequential policy change that follows a poll of the billionaire’s followers and comes just days after he reinstated former President Donald Trump’s account after conducting a similar survey.

Elon Musk gesticulates during a visit to the Tesla Gigafactory facility under construction. … [+] 2021 in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany. Photo by Patrick Pleul/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The Key Facts

Musk is a scientist. pollSince Wednesday’s post, it has attracted over 3.1 million votes. said he would begin restoring suspended accounts from “next week.”

Musk’s unscientific pollAttracted over 3.1 million votes with 72.4% of them in support of widespread reinstatement.

Musk reinstated Trump on Saturday after the poll closes asking for opinions about lifting Trump’s ban. Musk received 51.8% from more than 15,000,000 votes in favor of Trump returning.

Twitter has unbanned numerous suspended accounts since Musk took over the platform last month—including profiles for rapper Kanye West, firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and the conservative satirical website the Babylon Bee—but hard-right activists are pushing for much broader reinstatements, including for accounts banned for hate speech or sharing misinformation.

Musk has been pushed in particular to reinstate conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was permanently banned for abusive behavior in 2018, though the billionaire repeatedly said before Wednesday’s poll that he will not let him back on the platform.

The Crucial Quote

“The people have spoken… Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk tweeted when announcing his decision and the poll’s outcome. This is the phrasing. identicalMusk used the same phrase when he reinstated Trump. In Latin, the phrase translates to: “the voice of the people, the voice of God.”

Here’s What to Watch

Greene retweetedThe far-right has a long list of names they want reinstated Tuesday, including Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos (alt-right provocateur), and Stefan Molyneux (canadian white nationalist).

The Key Background

Musk pledged to permit all speech allowed by law to be posted on Twitter before he assumed control. He also stated last week that Twitter’s new policy is “freedom to speak, but not freedom to communicate.” Musk claimed that Twitter won’t demonetize and promote tweets that contain hate speech or any other “negative” content. This new policy comes after a turbulent few weeks that were filled with confusion about Twitter’s moderation practices. Musk originally stated existing moderation policies would be maintained until an “content council” convened. …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer