Elon Musk Floats ‘General Amnesty’ For Nearly All Banned Twitter Accounts In New Poll

Topline

Twitter owner Elon Musk launched a poll early Wednesday afternoon asking users whether the social media platform should “offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam,” just days after he reinstated former President Donald Trump’s account following a similar survey.

Key Facts

Within 45 minutes, the unscientific poll had attracted more than 700,000 votes, with 74.1% in favor of widespread reinstatement.

The poll remains open until 12:46 p.m. Eastern time Thursday.

On Saturday, Musk reinstated Trump minutes after a poll closed asking whether the former president’s ban should be lifted, with 51.8% of more than 15 million votes cast in favor of allowing Trump back.

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.

What To Watch For

Greene retweeted a list of figures Tuesday many on the far right are calling to be reinstated, such as Jones, alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos and Canadian white nationalist Stefan Molyneux.

Key Background

Prior to taking over Twitter, Musk vowed to allow all speech permissible by law on the platform once he became owner, and he said last week Twitter has a new policy of “freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.” Musk said Twitter will not promote and demonetize tweets engaging in hate speech or other “negative” content. The new policy follows a chaotic few weeks filled with confusion over Twitter’s moderation practices, with Musk initially saying existing moderation policies would remain in place until a “content moderation council” convened to determine future steps, though many observers are now skeptical if such a panel will ever form. The billionaire’s previous comments on moderation policies appeared to be an attempt to assuage advertisers leery about Twitter’s future under Musk, as several high-profile brands, including General Mills, Ford and Chipotle, pulled back on ad spending. Musk said immediately before taking over Twitter that he would not allow the platform to become a “free-for-all hellscape.”

Further Reading

Musk Says Twitter ‘Cannot Become A Free-For-All Hellscape’ Ahead Of Purchase (Forbes)

Balenciaga Deletes Twitter Account After Musk Sale—Here Are The Others Rethinking Their Ties (Forbes)

‘Freedom Of Speech, But Not Freedom Of Reach’: Musk Reinstates Kathy Griffin And Jordan Peterson Amid New Policy — But Not Trump Yet (Forbes)

Musk’s Trump Twitter Poll Hits 14 Million Votes—Most Want Ex-President Back On Platform (Forbes)

Elon Musk Reinstates Donald Trump’s Twitter Account After Asking Users To Vote (Forbes)