Elon Musk’s Twitter reinstates Marjorie Taylor Greene

Elon Musk’s Twitter has reinstated the personal account of far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, which was banned in January for violating the platform’s Covid misinformation policies at the time.

Greene’s reinstatement comes after Musk over the weekend reinstated the account of former President Donald Trump, who was banned in the aftermath of the deadly January 6 riots on the Capitol in 2021. Twitter — at the time — feared there was a risk of further incitement to violence if Trump was allowed to remain on the platform. Trump himself has said he won’t return to Twitter and had not yet tweeted since the reinstatement, although he also hasn’t deleted his account.

Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington. Photo / AP

Musk apparently based his decision to allow Trump back on the site on an unscientific Twitter poll he posted on his timeline. There appeared to be no such poll for Greene’s account. Earlier, Musk said he won’t make major decisions about the content or restoring banned accounts before setting up a “content moderation council” with diverse viewpoints.

Musk has frequently expressed his belief that Twitter had become too restrictive. Before the US midterm elections this month, he urged his “independent-minded” Twitter followers to vote Republican.

One account Musk has said he won’t allow back on Twitter is that of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was banned in 2018 for abusive behaviour.

“My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat,” Musk tweeted in response to calls for Jones’ reinstatement. “I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.”