Elon Musk welcomes Ye back to Twitter after also unbanning Donald Trump
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Twitter has removed bans on several prominent accounts, including former President Donald Trump, as the social media platform’s wild roller coaster ride of events continues to unfold.
Elon Musk, the new CEO and owner of Twitter, posted a poll on Friday asking users if he should reinstate Trump’s account, which was banned following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol Hill attack. The result showed that 51.8 percent of the 15,085,458 accounts who voted agreed that Trump should return to the platform.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
More from NextShark: China is Forcing Thousands of Tibetans Into Labor Camps, Jamestown Foundation Says
“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk, 51, wrote, which is the Latin phrase for “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Following the poll, the ban on Trump’s account was removed on Saturday, making all of his previous tweets visible to his over 87 million followers. When asked if he would return to the social media giant, Trump candidly admitted, “I don’t see any reason for it.”
More from NextShark: Kim Jong-un's sister threatens South Korea with nuclear 'extermination' if North Korea is 'provoked'
“They have a lot of problems at Twitter, you see what’s going on. It may make it, it may not make it,” he said before the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting over the weekend.
Former President Trump: "I hear we're getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don't see it because I don't see any reason for it." https://t.co/h1prfOZdXP pic.twitter.com/s36gHTfsyw
— The Hill (@thehill) November 21, 2022
More from NextShark: You'll Never See Nurses the Same After Reading Raw Letters From the Front Line
Trump noted that he would rather stay on Truth Social, a social media platform developed by his Trump Media & Technology Group startup, which he said is doing “phenomenally well.”
Musk also welcomed American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, back on Twitter on Sunday, responding to the singer’s first tweet in weeks, “Don’t kill what ye hate, save what ye love.”
More from NextShark: 'There is only one China': Nicaragua declares former Taiwan embassy belongs to China
Don’t kill what ye hate
Save what ye love— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
Ye, 45, was banned in early October for posting an antisemitic tweet, writing “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” The “Flashing Lights” singer was reportedly referring to the military term “DEFCON” in his tweet.
The rapper eventually recovered his account in early November but announced soon after that he would be taking a break for the rest of the month.
I’m not talking to nooobody for a month pic.twitter.com/g1JYFmCGEo
— ye (@kanyewest) November 3, 2022
Other accounts that have been unbanned include the conservative Christian news satire website The Babylon Bee and Canadian media personality Jordan Peterson, which were both banned for violating Twitter’s hateful conduct policies for posting tweets targeting the transgender community.
American comedian Kathy Griffin’s account was also unbanned. Griffin recently had her account restricted for impersonating Musk on Twitter.
Kathie Griffin, Jorden Peterson & Babylon Bee have been reinstated.
Trump decision has not yet been made.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
In a tweet on Friday, Musk wrote that the social media platform’s new policy is “freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.”
“Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted and demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter,” he added. “You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet.”
New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.
Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter.
You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
Musk took control of Twitter in October after buying the social media platform for $44 billion in April.