Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ X account has been reinstated by Elon Musk, who cited a vote on the now-defunct Twitter site that supported the Infowars presenter, who has labeled the Sandy Hook school tragedy in 2012 a fabrication.
It is the latest controversial public figure to have their banned account reactivated, which creates more uncertainty for advertisers who have left X due to worries that hate speech will display alongside their advertising.
Jones should be restored, according to a poll that Musk released on Saturday. The findings reveal that 70% of respondents agreed. Musk tweeted early on Sunday, saying, “The people have spoken and so it shall be.”
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Jones retweeted a message promoting his video game a few hours after his postings became available once more. Due to his harsh behavior, he and his Infowars broadcast were permanently banned in 2018.
Musk, who has identified as an absolutist in the field of free expression, claimed that the action was taken to safeguard such rights. When someone said that “permanent account bans are antithetical to free speech,” Musk replied, saying that he found it difficult to disagree.
Additionally, the billionaire CEO of Tesla tweeted that it’s probable that “any AJ post that needs correction” would receive a prompt response from Community Notes, X’s crowdsourced fact-checking service.
It is a significant shift for Elon Musk, who had earlier declared that despite numerous requests, he would not permit Jones to return to the platform. Musk wrote last year, “I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics, or fame,” citing the death of his firstborn child as evidence.
On his show, Jones has stated time and time again that the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in 2012—which claimed the lives of 20 students and six teachers—was a hoax intended to bolster gun control legislation.
Elon Musk
In Connecticut and Texas, relatives of several victims filed lawsuits against Jones, and they were awarded verdicts totaling about $1.5 billion. A court decided in October that Jones was not eligible to file for bankruptcy in order to escape paying more than $1.1 billion of that debt.
The relatives of the victims of the school massacre stated during the trials that they were harassed and intimidated by Jones’ followers, who even went so far as to physically confront the bereaved families and accuse them of being “crisis actors” whose children never existed.
Jones is contesting the rulings, arguing that his First Amendment rights to free expression were violated and that he did not get a fair trial.
Restoring Jones’ account coincides with Elon Musk witnessing a number of major companies, including as Disney and IBM, cease their advertising on X following a report by the leftist advocacy organization Media Matters claiming that advertisements were running alongside postings supporting white nationalism and pro-Nazi material.
Additionally, many fled when Elon Musk, in reaction to a post on X, promoted an antisemitic conspiracy theory. After apologizing, the CEO of Tesla traveled to Israel to meet with senior Israeli officials and see a kibbutz that had been targeted by Hamas fighters.
However, he has also claimed that marketers are employing “blackmail” and has effectively urged them to leave by using a foul language.
In a late-month on-stage interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit, Musk advised against advertising.
Following two suspensions for antisemitic posts last year, Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, was reinstated; far-right Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was removed from the platform for violating its COVID-19 misinformation policies; and former President Donald Trump were all reinstated after Elon Musk announced he was offering “amnesty” for suspended accounts after purchasing Twitter last year.
Trump, who was suspended for inciting the Capitol uprising on January 6, 2021, owns his own social media platform, Truth Social, and has only sent out one tweet since being granted access to X.