Politics

Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter’s ‘permaban’ on Donald Trump

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Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter’s permanent ban on former President Donald Trump if his $44 billion bid to buy the social media company is approved.

“I would reverse the ‘permaban,'” Musk said in a live interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday.

Trump was permanently suspended by Twitter along with Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, for what the companies described as his role in inciting violence during the Jan. 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Musk has previously said he thinks Twitter should be more “reluctant to delete things” and “very cautious with permanent bans.” On Tuesday, he called Twitter’s decision to ban Trump in January 2021 a “mistake.”

“I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump, I think that was a mistake,” Musk said. “I would reverse the perma-ban… But my opinion, and Jack Dorsey, I want to be clear, shares this opinion, is that we should not have perma-bans.”

“Now, that doesn’t mean that somebody gets to say whatever they want to say,” Musk continued. “If they say something that is illegal or otherwise just destructive to the world, then there should perhaps be a time-out, a temporary suspension, or that particular tweet should be made invisible or have very limited traction. But I think permabans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion. I think it was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme.”

Dorsey, who is Twitter’s cofounder and former CEO, tweeted on Tuesday following Musk’s remarks that he does “agree” there shouldn’t be permanent bans on Twitter users. “There are exceptions … but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don’t work,” he said.

Trump has previously said he would not return to Twitter even if his account were restored, instead he said he will continue to promote his own social media venture, Truth Social.

ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH 

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: KYMA.COM

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Paul Murdoch

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

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