Donald Trump's is Twitter account has been reactivated. Elon Musk had earlier pledged that he would reinstate the former president's account.
And, short while later, the @realDonaldTrump account reappeared on the platform. The 45th President of the United States of America is yet to tweet from the account after his lengthy ban.
It reverses a ban put in place by the social media platform's previous owners, a ban that has kept the former president off the social media site since January 6, 2021.
Mr Trump's account was suspended after a pro-Trump mob attacked the US Capitol as Congress was poised to certify Joe Biden’s election victory. Mr Musk made the announcement in the evening after holding a poll that asked Twitter users to click “yes” or “no” on whether Mr Trump’s account should be restored.
The “yes” vote won, with 51.2 per cent.
“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk tweeted, using a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people, the voice of God”. He later said that 134 million people had seen the poll.
However, it is unclear whether Mr Trump will return to Twitter. An irrepressible tweeter before he was banned, the former president said previously that he would not rejoin Twitter even if his account was reinstated.
Earlier, posting on the website the billionaire recently bought, Mr Musk announced that other controversial figures Kathie Griffin, Jorden Peterson and Babylon Bee would have their accounts reinstated.
He posted: “New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach. Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetised, 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.” He continued: “Note, this applies just to the individual tweet, not the whole account.
He posted the series of Tweets after stating: “Freedom Fridays …”
Comedian Griffin was banned under a prohibition of “parody” accounts when she changed her account name to match that of the Tesla chief executive. Right wing author and psychologist Dr Peterson was suspended after he posted a tweet about transgender actor Elliot Page, which the site ruled had violated its rules on “hateful content”.
The account of Christian satirical news site Babylon Bee was suspended for the same reason after it posted in March: “The Babylon Bee’s Man of the Year is Rachel Levine,” referring to the US Assistant Health Secretary, who openly identifies as a transgender woman.
- Do you agree with Elon Musk's decision to let Donald Trump return to twitter? Let us know in our comments section.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
Find recommendations for eating out, attractions and events near you here on our sister website 2Chill
Find recommendations for dog owners and more doggy stories on our sister site Teamdogs
