Elon Musk, the new head of Twitter, rehabilitated this Saturday the account of former US President Donald Trump, banned from the social network after the assault on the Washington Capitol in January 2021.
“Vox populi Vox Dei”
More than fifteen million responded and 51.8% voted “yes” to the return of the Republican politician to the stage. Minutes after Elon Musk’s message, Donald Trump’s account became visible again, the last tweet dating from January 8, 2021.
The number of subscribers was erratic, rising in less than two hours to 3 million before falling sharply.
In charge of the social network for three weeks, the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX in particular had suggested at the launch of the survey on Friday night that its result could influence a decision on the return or not of the former head of Twitter. since he had accompanied him with the message “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” (The voice of the people is the voice of God).
In the name of free speech, he has already reinstated several other user accounts suspended on Friday.
Banned from January 8, 2021
Shortly after finalizing the acquisition of the platform for 44,000 million dollars at the end of October, the leader had assured that no important decision on the contents or the reactivation of the account would be made without the intervention of a dedicated council. A gesture intended, among other things, to reassure advertisers, the group’s main source of income.
It has not publicly indicated whether this council has been established. Twitter had banned Donald Trump on January 8, 2021, two days after his supporters invaded the Capitol, due to the “risk of further incitement to violence.”
Believing that this sanction constituted “a morally bad and extremely insane decision”, Elon Musk had mentioned in May a possible return of the former Republican president to the platform.
Alors que de nombreuses associations, authorités et annonceurs craignent que les contenus ne soient plus suffisamment modérés sur le réseau social, laissant libre cours à la désinformation, au harcèlement et à d’autres abus, l’homme d’affaires était attendu au tournant sur theme.
“You are betraying our democracy,” the president of the NAACP civil rights organization Derrick Johnson reacted on Twitter, stating that Elon Musk’s subscribers “do not represent the United States.”
“I like it”
The restoration of Donald Trump’s account is expected to cause a stir in American society and politics, especially since he is once again in the race for the White House by 2024.
While rejoicing that with Elon Musk, Twitter is “in good hands”, Donald Trump has, however, said in recent days that he will remain on his Truth Social network, even if this platform only offers him a small sounding board on comparison to Twitter where it had more than 88 million subscribers.
During a video intervention Saturday at a Coalition of Republican Jews rally in Las Vegas, the Republican candidate welcomed the initiative and Elon Musk.
On Truth Social precisely, he had encouraged his subscribers to “vote positivity” before adding: “But don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere. Truth Social is special.”
A shaken company
In any case, the decision to bring Donald Trump back to Twitter will likely create a bit more turmoil within the company, already heavily shaken since Elon Musk acquired it.
He made his mark by firing the group’s top leaders on his first day before embarking on a massive social plan. Controversial features were released before being postponed and advertisers leaked.
And this week, several hundred employees responded “no” to the new owner’s ultimatum, asking them to work tirelessly “to build a revolutionary Twitter 2.0.”
Source: BFM TV
