Elon Musk launched a Twitter poll on Saturday asking his followers to vote on whether or not they agree with reinstating former US President Donald Trump’s account on the platform, after being banned for almost two years. As Musk published the poll, he commented “Vox Populi, Vox Dei”. The Latin phrase means “the voice of the people is the voice of God,” suggesting that he will take users’ opinions into account regarding reintroducing Trump to the platform.
More than 15 million users voted and the majority of them, 52%, were in favor of the former president’s return to Twitter. “The people have spoken,” tweeted Mr Musk.
“Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.”
Elon Musk – Twitter
The account has more than 80 million followers, last active in January 2021, appeared to be live on Sunday. Trump, who meanwhile has his own social media platform – Truth Social, didn’t seem interested in joining the network again as he said via video at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting, “I don’t see any reason for it.”
The former president is still banned on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, following the riots on the US Capitol. According to EuroNews, his suspension from Facebook is set to be reconsidered in January. Earlier this week, Trump announced he will run again for the US presidency in 2024.
Musk, a self-described “free-speech absolutist”, also announced that several other accounts of suspended users have been reinstated on the platform. These include the accounts of comedian Kathy Griffin, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, Babylon Bee and even Andrew Tate. Peterson and Babylon Bee’ were suspended for transphobic comments, before Musk’s takeover, while Griffin’s ban was given earlier this month for impersonating Elon Musk.
Since Musk’s $44 billion takeover in October, a couple of well-known businesses, including General Mills, Eli Lilly, General Motors, and Audi, have paused their Twitter advertising. After Trump’s reinstatement, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), issued a statement urging advertisers to immediately pause their spending. “Any advertiser still funding Twitter should immediately pause all advertising. If Elon Musk continues to run Twitter like this, using garbage polls that do not represent the American people and the needs of our democracy, God help us all.”
Source: nytimes.com
