MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell rejoins Twitter only to be banned again in four hours

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who was banned from Twitter last year for spreading US election-related misinformation, rejoined the platform after Elon Musk’s takeover, only to be suspended again four hours later.

Mr Lindell, a staunch supporter of former president Donald Trump, announced his comeback on Twitter with a new account on Sunday afternoon.

“Hello everybody, I’m back on Twitter. My only account is @MikeJLindell! Please RT and follow to spread the word,” the MyPillow CEO wrote in his first Twitter post from his new account.

The tweet also included a self-recorded video where he explained why he was back on the social media platform and cautioned his fans about fake accounts impersonating him.

“I’m here to tell you about my new account. So we started this account. Please share it with everyone you know,” Mr Lindell said in the post, which has now disappeared.

“Let everybody you know know — so we can get the word out over here at Twitter in case they do take it down,” he added, appearing to be sitting in a private jet as he filmed the clip. “And thanks a lot for helping out.”

Soon after the Trump loyalist made the announcement, his fans started following him in large numbers. According to Newsweek, in about five minutes, the account had already been followed by over 20,000 users.

However, just four hours after he tweeted about joining the platform, Twitter removed his new account.

A spokesperson for Twitter told the outlet that the new account was suspended as it violated the platform’s rules on ban evasion.

The MyPillow CEO was earlier suspended on Twitter for repeatedly sharing conspiracy theories about the 2020 US presidential elections, echoing the unfounded claims of Mr Trump that the election was stolen.

At that time, Twitter had said in a statement that it suspended Mr Lindell’s account due to “repeated violations” of its civic integrity policy under its no-tolerance policy against misinformation.

Mr Lindell’s comeback to the platform came days after the Tesla founder’s takeover and privatisation of the microblogging site earlier last week. Mr Musk has repeatedly claimed he aims to protect free speech on the platform while previous management of the company faced criticism over censorship.