Donald Trump is on Twitter?
Now that Elon Musk is running Twitter, billionaire Tesla will most likely overturn a permanent ban on Trump for inciting violence in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Musk indicated he would allow Trump to return to the social media platform where the former president had more than 88 million followers.
“It would be wonderful to lift permanent bans on spam accounts and those explicitly advocating violence,” Musk texted then-Twitter CEO Parag Arawal in April, according to court documents.
At a convention in May, Musk said, “I think it’s not right to ban Donald Trump, I think it’s a mistake. “
Musk tweeted Friday that he would “dig deeper” into lifting bans and phantom restrictions on users. He then tweeted that Twitter would shape a content moderation board “with very varied viewpoints. “
“No primary decisions will be made on content or account reset until this board meeting,” Musk said.
Twitter will form a content moderation board with a wide variety of viewing topics. No decisions on primary content or account reinstatement will be made prior to this Board meeting.
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On Friday, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that he was “very pleased that Twitter is now in good hands. “He added: “I LOVE THE TRUTH!”
“I don’t think Twitter can succeed without me,” Trump told Fox Digital News on Friday.
He also said he plans to do it on Truth Social, which he says is “better,” “safe” and “like home. “
“I love Elon and his luck. I hope he does well,” Trump said.
If Musk lifts the permanent ban, Trump’s account would be reinstated. Trump declined to say he would use it again.
“Whether he’s the one saying, ‘Join me now or the platform may not succeed,’ or if he just won’t come back, that’s to be seen,” said Jake Denton, a research associate at the Heritage Foundation. Technology Policy Center.
Denton said Trump’s price on Twitter would be exaggerated for conservatives.
“His return, whether it happens or not, drastically adjusts the political landscape,” Denton told USA TODAY. “Whether it’s electoral politics or political decisions, he remains objectively the figurehead of conservative politics. He directs policy. Drive the messages. “
Trump has long said he probably wouldn’t return to Twitter even if invited. Musk also said he believes Trump will remain exclusively on Truth Social.
But Trump didn’t get the same resonance from his Truth Social app, which has a much more limited reach.
On Truth Social, Trump has 4. 36 million followers, only five percent of those he had on Twitter.
Some other people close to him think Trump will replace their mind.
“I don’t see how to take it away from Twitter,” Alyssa Farah, who worked in the Trump administration, said in an April tweet.
Elon Musk will let Donald Trump return to Twitter?Everything points to yes.
The removal of the platform from Trump and political right-wing figures has sparked outrage from conservatives who accuse Facebook and major social media platforms of censorship and liberal bias.
“Banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will magnify it among the right and that’s why it’s morally and downright stupid,” Musk said.
Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s former chief executive, agreed that Twitter has no permanent bans. Trump’s ban, he said, was a “trade decision” and “has not been. “
A return to mainstream social media carries dangers for Twitter and democracy, as it would “surely raise the temperature of our politics and dramatically increase the likelihood of political violence,” says Brian Ott, a professor of communication at Missouri State University.
Trump continued to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
“It would be a colossal mistake for Twitter to reinstate Trump on its platform,” Ott said. “He fired for a clever reason, namely to have continuously violated their terms of use and for inciting violence. “
Madison Avenue is also worried. Kieley Taylor, global head of partnerships at GroupM, a leading ad buying firm representing premium brands, told the Wall Street Journal that Trump’s return would be a red line for some brands.
In a tweet to Twitter advertisers Thursday, Musk said it was “important for the long-term of civilization to have a non-unusual virtual public square,” but that “obviously it can’t be a loose hell for everybody, where you can say everything. “no consequences. “!”
Trump lost his direct connection to his supporters when he withdrew from the nation’s major social media platforms — Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube — after the siege of the Capitol.
Bringing back that megaphone would be a boon if Trump were to run for president in 2024.
“Trump is, of course, the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party in 2024. His return to major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter would be a boon to his crusade efforts. After all, social media was at the center of Trump’s successful race for president in 2016,” Ott said.
While Twitter strives to keep maximum active users engaged, Musk has a strong monetary reason to bring back Trump, who is precisely the kind of megapersonality driving engagement on the platform.
Twitter’s heavy users, who account for less than 10% of global users per month but generate 90% of tweets and some of global revenue, have been in “absolute decline” since the pandemic began, a Twitter researcher wrote in an internal document titled “Where Did the Tweeters Go?”noted through Reuters.
Meanwhile, Facebook will decide in January whether to lift Trump’s suspension.
As for YouTube, CEO Susan Wojcicki said last year that the platform would lift Trump’s ban “when the threat of violence has diminished. “
YouTube declined to comment.
It’s unclear what the relationship between Musk and Trump is. They exchanged some heated comments in July. Trump called Musk an “artist. “Musk said Trump “sails until sunset. “
In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this month, Musk called Truth Social a “right-wing echo chamber. “
“It will also be called Trumpet,” he said.
Musk vowed to moderate content on Twitter that in recent years has sought to restrict hate speech, violence and lies about elections and public health issues.
He also strongly advised that he would rescind permanent bans, for accounts that make particular threats of violence or spread spam. That can come only with Georgia Republican Party Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon.
“Twitter has a kind of de facto public square, so it’s very important that other people have the truth and the belief that they can speak freely within the bounds of the law,” Musk said in April.