The Conversation (0)
Elon Musk lifts ban on Donald Trump's Twitter account
All the worst people imaginable have now been allowed back onto Twitter, as tech billionaire Elon Musk continues moulding the social media platform to his liking after taking ownership of the company last month.
The Tesla founder tweeted out a poll on Saturday as to whether to bring back Donald Trump, and sure enough, when more than 15 million accounts cast their votes and it finished with the cursed 52/48 split in favour of his return (see Brexit), @RealDonaldTrump was discoverable again.
“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” wrote Musk, a Latin phrase which translates to “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Yes, we hate it too.
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
And to make matters worse, the former US president isn’t the only controversial figure to be given a second chance at spewing more bile online. We’ve rounded them all up here for your reading (dis)pleasure.
Katie Hopkins
Hopkins was permanently banned from the social media platform in 2020 for breaching its “hateful conduct policy” after using the platform to spout several hateful views.
In her first post in three years, Hopkins wrote: “Thank you @elonmusk. And thank you to all the Twitter family who have brought Tommy & I back to @X.
“Know this. You are not alone. We are many. And we are stronger together. The fight back for your freedom is on.”
In her last stint on the platform, the former Apprentice contestant Hopkins became well-known for her controversial views that eventually got her banned.
But the ramifications of her hate have affected her in other ways – in 2017 Hopkins lost £131,000 in a libel case brought by cookery writer Jack Monroe. Additionally, in 2018, she was detained in South Africa for “spreading racial hatred” and in 2021 was deported from Australia when her visa was revoked after she bragged about flouting lockdown rules.
Tommy Robinson
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and is the former leader of the far-right English Defence League, had his Twitter account deactivated in 2018. He is well-known for being a far-right anti-Islam campaigner and has several convictions related to violence, fraud, drug possession and public order offences.
Robinson’s first post since his ban was a video of David Hasselhoff performing his 1989 song Looking For Freedom, with Robinson’s face dubbed over the singer’s.
Donald Trump
But first, allow us to give a bit more background on Trump’s history with Twitter, although we suspect you know a lot of this already.
It was back in January 2021 when his account was suspended, after his speech to a rally at the Ellipse – near the White House – on 6 January inspired a violent mob to march on the US Capitol. It was an insurrection, lives were lost, and President Trump was impeached for a second time.
It wasn’t long until he decided to set up his own social media platform, however – Truth Social – and it appears he is more than happy staying on there for the time being now that his Twitter account is back.
Andrew Tate
We wish we didn’t have to write about him, but here we are.
Tate rose to prominence earlier this year for his inflammatory views on women and his “negative presentations of masculinity” which have been branded “misogynistic”.
One disgusting comment, reported on by the Metro at the time, saw the former Big Brother star and kickboxer claim on Twitter that “if you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must bear some responsibility”.
Remarks he made about women on the bird app back in 2017 saw him suspended on the platform (he would go on to be banned across many other social media platforms earlier this year), but it was last week when he was allowed back onto the site, and soon upon his return, he decided to mock climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Vile.
Kanye West
Now simply known as ‘Ye’, the rapper had his account locked by Twitter last month after posting a string of antisemitic tweets – one of which said he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people”.
On Sunday, when he appeared to have his account back, he tweeted: “Testing. Testing. Seeing if my Twitter is unblocked.”
Six hours later, he sent another tweet, containing the Hebrew word “Shalom”.
It may be Ye for Musk, but it’s an Absolutely Not from us.
Jordan Peterson
The right-wing clinical psychologist known for his 12 Rules of Life was banned from Twitter in June for making a transphobic comment about actor Elliot Page.
Twitter gave Peterson the option to restore his account, so long as he delete his tweet. But Peterson said he "would rather die" than do so.
Musk restored Peterson's account on Friday 18 November which led the psychologist to tweet "I'm back" with a photo of Jack Torrence from The Shinning.
Babylon Bee
The right-wing satirical news site got its account locked back in March after it deliberately misgendered Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health at the US Department of Health and Human Services. It was told account access would be restored if the tweet was deleted, but those behind the outlet refused to do so.
Not Alex Jones
While it’s becoming clear just who has been allowed back onto Twitter, Musk has also tweeted about who he definitely won’t unban: far-right conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host Alex Jones.
Jones was ordered to cough up an eye-watering $965 million in damages last month, to be paid to the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre following his fake news about the tragedy.
It’s this which Musk referenced on Monday when he was asked if he would ever consider allowing Jones onto Twitter.
He wrote: “My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat.
“I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.”
Well, that’s one less problematic individual to worry about on Twitter, at least…
Majorie Taylor Greene
The controversial Georgia Congresswoman is no stranger to having her personal Twitter account suspended. In 2021 alone, Taylor Greene's account was suspended five times.
Earlier this year, her account was permanently suspended after Taylor Greene falsely tweeted that Covid-19 vaccines led to "extremely high amounts" of deaths.
Musk reinstated Taylor Greene's personal account on Monday 21 November.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.