Elon Musk complains about being asked about Trump’s Twitter return
Banned accounts will go before new ‘content moderation council’ for return to platform
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Elon Musk has only owned Twitter for a handful of days but the billionaire already seems tired of being asked when Donald Trump could return to the platform.
The world’s richest person took to Twitter, which he finally bought for $44bn last week after months of trying to back out of the deal, to complain about being asked about the one-term president.
“If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back on this platform, Twitter would be minting money!” Mr Musk tweeted on Monday.
Before his takeover, Mr Musk said that he believed Twitter was wrong for banning Mr Trump in the wake of his supporters attacking the US Capitol on January 6.
He called the move a “mistake” earlier this year at a financial conference, while not directly saying whether he’d reverse the decision once he owned the company.
Elon Musk dissolves Twitter’s board and makes himself ‘sole director’
Musk tests waters on paid verification for Twitter accounts
Elon Musk: Shonda Rhimes leaves Twitter as celebrities threaten to boycott over Tesla CEO’s ownership
Elon Musk laughs off being forced to delete lurid Paul Pelosi conspiracy tweet
“I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump,” said Mr Musk in May. “I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”
On Friday, a day after firing top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and legal chief Vijaya Gadde, the billionaire revealed that banned accounts like that of former president Donald Trump would not immediately be reinstated.
He said the social media company would be setting up a “content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints” to consider which accounts to allow back. Earlier Mr Musk tweeted that “the bird is freed”.
Despite Mr Musk’s assertion that Mr Trump may not be welcomed back into the fold, the former president celebrated the Tesla CEO’s purchase of Twitter by posting on his own, very similar social media platform, Truth Social.
“TRUTH SOCIAL has become somewhat of a phenomena. Last week it had bigger numbers than all other platforms, including TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and the rest. It also looks and works better to my eye. I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country,” Mr Trump said.
In addition to his Twitter ban, Mr Trump was also barred from using Instagram and Facebook for his repeated election denials and pushing of misinformation.
The deadly riot at the US Capitol has been blamed for the deaths of several police officers and resulted in charges of seditious conspiracy for some of Mr Trump’s hardline supporters.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments