Elon Musk said he will remove the permanent ban placed on the account of a former US President, Donald Trump.
This decision follows the conclusion of a Twitter poll on whether or not Trump should be reinstated.
At the end of the poll, which lasted 24 hours, 52% of the 15 million Twitter users who participated supported that Trump should be reinstated. However, 48% of participants were against the idea.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei: At the start of the poll, Musk tweeted that the people would decide Trump’s fate, citing the popular saying that the voice of the people is the voice of God. On the results of the poll favoring the return of the former President, Musk said:
- “The people spoke. Bring back Trump. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.”
The head of Twitter on Friday announced the lifting of the suspension of some famous accounts previously suspended by Twitter. He, however, noted that a decision has yet to be made regarding Trump.
Former President Donald Trump’s account was permanently suspended in January 2021 after his tweet described his supporters who stormed the US Capitol as “patriots”. Twitter said his account was suspended “due to the risk of further inciting violence.”
With accounts suspended for violating Twitter’s policies reinstated, Musk emphasized that Twitter’s new policy is to promote free speech. He, however, noted that negative or hateful tweets are not given wide reach.
He said:
- “Twitter’s new policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach. Negative/hateful tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue on Twitter. You won’t find tweet unless you specifically search for it, which is no different than the rest of the Internet.”