The owner and patron of Twitter since three weeks ago Elon Musk announced this Friday, November 18 that several suspended user accounts had been reinstated on the platform, but that he had “not yet made a decision on (Donald) Trump”. The boss of Tesla, who defends an absolutist vision of freedom of expression, is expected at the turn of the subject of former US President Donald Trump, banned from the social network after the assault on the Capitol in January 2021. “The politics of the new Twitter is freedom of expression, but not the freedom to reach “the public, explained Elon Musk on his Twitter account. “Negative or hateful tweets will be demoted and demonetized, so there will be no back-to-back ads or other revenue for Twitter. You won’t find these tweets unless you search for them specifically, which is no different from rest of the internet,” he added.
Twitter seems plunged into an unprecedented crisis on Friday, after hundreds of employees of the group, survivors of the first massive wave of layoffs two weeks ago, decided to leave in response to an ultimatum from the multi-billionaire. Elon Musk is also facing concern and criticism from advertisers, analysts and elected officials after many contradictory decisions and positions on the crucial subject of content moderation.
Three accounts reinstated on Friday
The accounts he reinstated on Friday – Kathy Griffin, Jordan Peterson and Babylon Bee – are close to the American left or right. Comedian Kathy Griffin, who had two million subscribers, was suspended from the platform last week, along with other netizens who changed their username to “Elon Musk” to mock the new boss. She had also replaced her profile picture with an image of the billionaire.
“Twitter accounts that impersonate someone else, without clearly specifying that it is a parody, will be permanently suspended,” Elon Musk said. Accused of defending freedom of expression except when he is the target of jokes, he also made fun of Kathy Griffin, tweeting: “In fact, she was suspended for posing as a comedian”. “The Babylon Bee” is a conservative American satirical site, suspended from Twitter in March for violating hate speech rules, after a tweet about Rachel Levine, a transgender pediatrician in Joe Biden’s government.
Twitter: Elon Musk issues 24-hour ultimatum to employees
According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk’s ex-wife, Talulah Riley, texted him in the spring, before he announced his plan to acquire the social network, to protest the suspension of Babylon Bee and encourage him to buy Twitter to delete it or make it “radically pro freedom of expression”. Jordan Peterson is a media personality known for his conservative views, and also suspended from the platform for hate speech, against transgender actor Elliot Page. “I’m back. Thanks Elon Musk,” he tweeted on Friday. A netizen suggested also reinstating far-right American conspirator Alex Jones, who has been sued for several years by parents of victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newton, Connecticut, for claiming the massacre was not than a staging led by opponents of firearms. “No,” replied Elon Musk.
Does Twitter only have a few more weeks to live?
Twitter: Elon Musk restores banned accounts, but not yet that of Donald Trump