Elon Musk announced that suspended Twitter accounts would be granted an “amnesty.”
The Twitter CEO granted an “amnesty” to accounts on the platform that had previously been suspended after a poll asking users to vote “Yes” or “No” to whether accounts that had not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam” should be reinstated.
There were 3,162,112 votes cast during the 24-hour poll and 72% of voters said “Yes.”
Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022
Following the poll’s result, Elon tweeted, “The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” referencing a Latin phrase meaning, “the voice of the people, the voice of God.”
After announcing the “amnesty,” a number of racy subjects started trending on the platform. A hashtag dedicated to former KKK leader David Duke went viral, as did a hashtag for the Nazis.
The billionaire also responded to an Associated Press report which included concerns surrounding an increase in harassment, hate speech, and misinformation on Twitter due to the reinstated accounts.
“AP is such an expert in misinformation. Twitter couldn’t hope to compete!” Elon replied.
Musk’s announcement came just days after he reinstated Donald Trump’s account, as well as those of Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, Andrew Tate – whose extreme misogynistic views resulted in a Twitter ban in 2017 – and US rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, who was sanctioned last month for posting antisemitic comments.