Twitter owner and CEO has started reinstating accounts that were previously banned on the social media platform for breaking its rules, according to Euronews.
Accounts of three controversial users were already reinstated, including conservative satire site Babylon Bee, conservative author and former YouTube personality Jordan Peterson, and comedian Kathy Griffin.
Babylon Bee, Peterson, and Griffin are All Reinstated
In a tweet, Musk announced that the social media platform has reinstated the accounts of Babylon Bee, Peterson, and Griffin.
The move of the CEO was part of "Freedom Fridays." However, this seems to contradict his previous statement that a moderation council should be formed first before undoing bans or otherwise making important content decisions.
The moderation council was supposed to make sure that the policies of Twitter reflected a wide range of viewpoints, according to Engadget.
Babylon Bee is a conservative-leaning U.S. satirical website. The account was suspended in March after a tweet misgendering Rachel Levine, a transgender pediatrician who is part of Joe Biden's administration.
According to Twitter, Babylon Bee's tweet during that time amounted to prohibited "hateful conduct," that's why it was suspended.
Meanwhile, Peterson is a media personality who is known for his conservative views. He was banned from the platform for posting hateful comments that targeted transgender actor Elliot Page.
The comedian Griffin was suspended from Twitter just last week. She was banned after responding to the social media platform's messy pay-for-verification rollout.
She replaced her profile picture with an image of the CEO and changed her username to Elon Musk. She was one of the many Internet users who impersonated the billionaire.
According to Engadget, the billionaire's move might likely have critics. This summer, LGBTQ rights advocates such as GLAAD supported internet bans on Peterson for his "hateful and false narratives."
Read Also: Twitter Could File For Bankruptcy, Elon Musk Tells Staff
Elon Musk Uses Twitter Poll to Ask Users Whether to Reinstate Donald Trump
Meanwhile, Musk said he hasn't made a decision yet about reinstating the Twitter account of former US president Donald Trump.
However, on Friday night, the CEO took to Twitter the decision on whether or not to reinstate Trump.
He used the Twitter poll to ask the users, posting "Reinstate former President Trump" with "Yes" or "No" as an option. According to Rollingstone, as of November 18, the tweet had more than 500,000 votes in minutes.
The billionaire previously announced that he would allow Trump back on the app, saying that it was a "mistake" of Twitter to ban him. In May, the CEO even forecasted the return of the former president on the platform.
Trump's account was permanently banned from the social media platform in January 2021, due to his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as well as the potential for more violence. When the company banned him, he has about 88.8 million followers.
However, despite the CEO's advocacy for free speech, it appears that there is one account that he does not plan to reinstate.
He flatly said "No" when one user asked him to bring back conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has been ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages for defamation.
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