WASHINGTON: After getting more than 15 million votes, Elon Musk reinstated former President Donald Trump on Twitter who was suspended on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol, on charges that his posts had the risk of inciting violence.
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Musk, the new owner of Twitter who bought the most popular social media platform for $44 billion recently, made the announcement of reinstating Trump in the evening after holding a poll that asked Twitter users to click “yes” or “no” on whether Trump’s account should be reinstated. The “yes” vote won, with 51.2%.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
Soon after the Twitter poll, Elon Musk said “the people have spoken, Trump will be reinstated.” He added the Latin phrase “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” which roughly means that the voice of the people is the voice of God.
Shortly afterward Trump’s account reappeared on the platform complete with his former tweets, more than 59,000 of them. However his followers were gone, at least initially.
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The move by Elon Musk came following his announcement in May this year that he would reverse the permanent ban of Mr. Trump on Twitter and let him back on the social network. However, he had said that Twitter would form a content moderation council to handle major content decisions on the platform and that he would not make any moves on account reinstatements “before that council convenes.” No council has been formed.
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On Friday, Musk had tweeted that he was allowing some people whose Twitter accounts had been barred, including the comedian Kathy Griffin and the author and psychologist Jordan Peterson, back on to the platform.
