Former president Donald Trump will be allowed back on Twitter, Elon Musk announced Saturday night. The decision comes as a result of a Twitter poll that Musk tweeted out earlier in the day.
The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei. https://t.co/jmkhFuyfkv
The poll was a narrow victory for “Yes” winning by 51.8% of the 15 million votes.
Trump was suspended after the Jan. 6 riot on the Capitol. At the time, Twitter explained the decision in a blog post: “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Previously, Musk said that he would have major moderation decisions like this be made by some special committee, perhaps like the Facebook Oversight Committee, which voted to uphold Trump’s ban from Facebook and Instagram.
Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.
Trump’s Twitter account as of Saturday night was back online, although he had not made any new tweets.