A number of prominent conservatives returned to Twitter the day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk reached an agreement to acquire the platform for $44 billion on the promise of protecting freedom of speech.
Conservative media personalities such as Tucker Carlson, Mark Levin, Raheem Kassam, and others returned, some after having been previously suspended.
Musk secured the deal with the social media company on April 25. In doing so, the self-described “free-speech absolutist” triggered a backlash from far-left activists over the role of social media platforms in regulating the flow of information. Musk clarified his stance in an April 26 tweet, saying, “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.”
“If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”
Musk has called for features such as the addition of an edit button for tweets and granting automatic verification marks to premium users.
Musk has also proposed that Twitter’s algorithm become “open source” or available for the public to view and improve upon and to help prevent “behind the scenes manipulation” such as fueling fake foreign propaganda.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spambots, and authenticating all humans,” said Musk.
Tackling cryptocurrency scams is another priority, with Musk declaring war on spambots, which he says are publishing scam posts on Twitter to swindle investors.
“[We] will defeat the spam bots or die trying,” said Musk in a tweet.
While a number of prominent conservatives have so far returned to Twitter, there is one who will not.
Twitter shut down The Babylon Bee’s feed last month, after accusing the satirical website of “hateful conduct” for giving its 2022 “Man of the Year” award to the transgender Levine.
The Babylon Bee’s CEO Seth Dillon was notified by Twitter on March 20, that his site—with 1.3 million followers—was locked out of its account.
Other prominent conservatives have made their first tweets in months after a hiatus.
Fox News host Mark Levin also said he was coming back to Twitter “thanks to new ownership.”
Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk who was suspended after saying Levine had “spent 54 years of his life as a man,” has yet to return.
The Babylon Bee’s account was also reinstated.
