On Friday, Elon Musk got backlash from right-wing advocates after replying “no” to a Twitter user who was demanding that Musk restore conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Musk Responds to Requests to Unban Alex Jones
Musk made the remark during a short Twitter discussion in response to a question he posed to users asking them “what else” they wanted to see him do with Twitter.
In response to a participant’s suggestion that Alex Jones’ banning be lifted, Musk stated clearly, “No.”
Alex Jones responded to Musk on Friday by saying that he understands why he did this; he has the ADL and the Dem Party after him, and the EU is attempting to block him currently.
Is Musk a Hypocrite?
Musk, who considers himself a free-speech advocate, was attacked almost instantly by right-wing and far-right extremists.
Tim Pool, a right-leaning YouTuber, said that Elon’s assertion of free speech was swiftly debunked.
Kingsley Cortes, an employee at Gettr, a conservative alternate social media platform to Twitter commented that this was a mask-off type moment for Musk.
Far-right Tayler Hansen, a YouTuber, seethed about how Musk can reinstate Kathie Griffin but not Alex Jones? It continued from there.
Musk — for now — says no to a return for Alex Jones. pic.twitter.com/s9NxoXP4oA
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) November 18, 2022
Why This Matters So Much
David Freiheit, a YouTuber, and right-wing attorney wrote that Alex Jones is the litmus test.
In addition to the question of free expression, but also on the matter of resisting political and judiciary coercion. Jones was engaged with “psyops” discussions on his InfoWars program on Friday afternoon and did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for feedback.
On Wednesday, November 2, the businessman explained on his newly-acquired social media site that 45 previously-banned individuals will presumably not recover their user accounts until a suitable process is established.
Musk stated that Twitter would not accept individuals who have been de-platformed for breaking Twitter guidelines back onto the platform unless they have a clear mechanism for doing so, adding that he had met with “civil society representatives” to address combating “hate and abuse” and the app’s “election integrity policies.”
Defamation isn't covered under "free speech". Someone with the track record of Mr. Jones is not deserving of this or any other platform.
— Bennett Tweets (@RealRickBennett) November 18, 2022
Musk’s clarification regarding Trump’s standing on the site comes approximately half a year since he pledged to restore the former Commander-in-Chief’s account after his lifetime ban in early 2021, a choice the Neuralink entrepreneur has openly criticized.
Musk has said that he believe it was a blunder to kick off Donald Trump, this was while visiting the Financial Times’ Future of the Car event, noting that if he acquired the network, he would lift the permanent ban.
Former Twitter CEO Disagrees With Musk
He continued, referring to Twitter’s controversial co-founder and former CEO, who resigned in November, Jack Dorsey. In fact supports this view that there should not be permanent bans.
The former president was originally banned from Twitter shortly after the incident at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, with an official response from the site claiming that the potential of further inciting violence as the reason.
