Elon Musk has decided he won’t allow controversial conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to return to Twitter, despite allowing his users to choose whether Donald Trump can return.
The right-wing podcaster and founder of Infowars was recently ordered to pay a total of $1.44bn (£1.2bn) by U.S. courts for falsely claiming that the victims of a Connecticut school shooting were actors.
He has claimed for years that the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut was staged as part of a government plot to take away the guns of Americans.
But the question was asked about restoring his account, date Mr Trumphas.
The former US president has been permanently suspended Chirping in January 2021 following the deadly attack by his supporters at the United States Capitol.
New owner of Twitter Moss he called that ban a “mistake” and “morally wrong”.
Now the billionaire has been posed on Twitter with the direct question: “Is it time to bring Alex Jones back”?, with the argument that Mr. Jones has apologized and the reinstatement of his account would be “in the interest of true free speech “.
But Musk strongly disagrees.
Explaining his reasoning, he tweeted: “My first born died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat.
“I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.”
Last week Musk asked users on Twitter to vote on whether to reinstate the former president, and the result was close – 51.8% voted yes, while 48.2% voted no.
Since Trump’s account was taken over, he has yet to tweet, instead deciding to stick to his own social media platform, Truth Social.
Musk has also reinstated some previously banned or suspended controversial accounts, including satirical website Babylon Bee and comedian Kathy Griffin.
Read more:
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The InfoWars host who spread lies about Sandy Hook
Trump’s Twitter account is back
Critics argue that the social media platform has been in a almost constant state of chaos since he took over.
Musk also triggered a flood of resignations, as well as cutting thousands of jobs, after giving staff an ultimatum that must enroll in “high intensity and long hours”.
But he tweeted last week that he wasn’t concerned about the addition of “the best people stay.”
In an email to some employees on Friday, he asked for proof of what their software code had “achieved” over the past six months, saying “there will be brief technical talks.”
