Will Donald Trump return to Twitter?
The Tesla billionaire is likely to lift Trump’s permanent ban on incitement to violence during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol after already being in charge of Twitter. Trump has more than 88 million fans on the social media platform, and Musk said he would welcome him back.
According to court documents, Musk sent a message to then-Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal in April: “It would be fantastic to remove permanent bans, except for spam accounts and those that actively promote violence.”
At a conference in May, Musk said: “I really think it was wrong to ban Donald Trump, I think it was a mistake.”
Musk says Twitter is forming a content moderation board
On Friday, Musk announced in a tweet that he would be “diving in” to remove shadow bans and end-user restrictions. He later tweeted about the formation of a content moderation board “with drastically different viewpoints.”
“No major decisions about content or account recovery will be made before this board meets,” Musk said.
Twitter will form a content moderation board with many different perspectives.
No major decisions about content or account recovery will be made prior to the convening of this board.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Trump would not say whether he would use his Twitter account if Musk reinstated it
Trump wrote Friday that he was “extremely pleased that Twitter is finally in safe hands” on his Truth Social account. I LOVE THE TRUTH, he continued.
Twitter will form a content moderation board with many different perspectives.
No major decisions about content or account recovery will be made prior to the convening of this board.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
“I don’t think Twitter can be successful without me,” Trump told Fox Digital News on Friday.
He also said he plans to stay at Truth Social, which he says is “better,” “safe” and feels “like home.”
“I like Elon and wish him the best of luck. I hope he does well with him,” Trump said.
Musk can reinstate Trump’s account if he lifts the indefinite ban. Trump did not say whether he would use it again.
Conservatives demand Trump return to Twitter
“It remains to be seen whether he’s saying ‘reinstate me now or the platform will fail,’ or he’s just not coming back,” said Jake Denton, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Technology Policy.
According to Denton, Republicans cannot overstate the importance of Trump’s presence on Twitter.
What journalists should do if Trump returns to Twitter
There is no need to follow Trump’s Twitter feed or talk about Trump’s Twitter feed or in any way acknowledge that Trump’s Twitter feed exists. All you do with your attention is encourage it.
??? https://t.co/nOto1AI3wv
— Amrita Bhinder ?? (@amritabhinder) October 28, 2022
Whether it happens or not, Denton told USA TODAY that “his comeback is hugely impactful on the political scene.” He continues to remain a leader of conservative politics regardless of electoral or political choice. He makes the rules. He is the leader of the message.
Will Trump stay exclusively on Truth Social?
Trump has long declared that he would not visit Twitter again, even if invited. Musk also stated that he thinks Trump will continue to use only Truth Social. But Trump’s Truth Social app, which has a significantly smaller audience, hasn’t generated the same buzz.
Trump has just 4.36 million followers on Truth Social, or 5% of his Twitter followers. “I don’t see how you keep him off Twitter,” said Alyssa Farah, who worked in the Trump administration, in April tweet.
Trump’s supporters believe he will change his mind.
“Trump’s Twitter Ban Didn’t End Trump’s Voice”
Conservatives, who accuse Facebook and other major social media companies of censorship and liberal bias, are outraged by the deplatforming of Trump and other political right-wing figures.
“Banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will strengthen him among the right, and that’s why it’s morally wrong and completely stupid,” Musk said.
The beautiful thing about Twitter is how it enables citizen journalism – people are able to spread news without establishment bias
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022
Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter, agreed that Twitter should not have permanent bans. Trump’s ban, he said, was a “business decision” and “shouldn’t have been.”
Trump’s comeback could be risky for Twitter
According to Missouri State University Communications expert Brian Ott, a return to mainstream social media raises concerns for Twitter and democracy because “it would undoubtedly raise the temperature of our politics and greatly increase the chance of political violence.”
Trump continues to make false accusations that the 2020 election was rigged.
“It would be a colossal mistake for Twitter to reinstate Trump on its platform,” Ott said. “He was removed for good reason, namely repeatedly violating their terms of service and inciting violence.”
Advertisers are also worried about Trump’s return to Twitter
Trump’s return would be a red line for certain brands, according to Keeley Taylor, global head of partnerships at GroupM, a leading ad buying agency that represents blue-chip brands, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
In a tweet addressed to Twitter advertisers on Thursday, Musk said “it is important for the future of civilization to have a common digital city square” but “it obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said without consequence!”
Why does Twitter need Trump and vice versa?
When he was banned from the nation’s biggest social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube, after the Capitol siege, Trump lost his direct connection to his supporters.
Trump’s preferred platform was Twitter. If Trump decides to run for president again in 2024, having the megaphone back would be beneficial.
“Trump is, of course, the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party in 2024. His return to major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter will greatly aid his campaign efforts. After all, social media was at the heart of Trump’s successful run for president in 2016,” Ott said.
“I like Elon, but I stand by the Truth,” Trump says @BrookeSingman https://t.co/C5BwZoR8n6
— Michael C. Bender (@MichaelCBender) October 28, 2022
Musk has a huge financial incentive to restore Trump, who is exactly the kind of mega-personality that generates engagement on the web as Twitter struggles to retain its most active users.
Heavy Twitter users have been in “absolute decline” since the start of the pandemic, according to a researcher who wrote in an internal document titled “Where did the tweets go?” seen by Reuters. These users make up less than 10% of monthly active users, but produce 90% of tweets and half of all global revenue.
Facebook will decide in 2023 if Trump can return, Youtube won’t say
Facebook will decide whether to reinstate Trump’s suspension in January. As for YouTube, CEO Susan Wojcicki said last year that the platform would lift Trump’s ban “when we determine that the risk of violence has decreased.”
Trump and Musk exchange heated comments
It is unclear what the current relationship between Musk and Trump is. They exchanged some heated comments in July. Trump called Musk a “shit artist.” Musk said Trump should “sail off into the sunset.”
Musk called Truth Social a “right-wing echo chamber” in an interview with the Financial Times published earlier this month. “It might as well be called the Trumpet,” he said.
Will Twitter bring back other banned accounts like Marjorie Taylor Greene?
Musk has promised to loosen Twitter’s strict rules on content moderation, which in recent years have aimed to curb hate speech, violence and inaccurate information about elections and public health.
He also made it clear that if he bans accounts that make open threats of violence or spread spam, he will remove the permanent bans. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia and Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Trump, could be included.
“Twitter has become sort of a de facto town square, so it’s really important that people have both the reality and the feeling that they can speak freely within the law,” Musk said in April.
Conclusion
Musk may be making a move that will affect even those who shun Twitter: welcoming back Donald Trump. Musk promised in May to reverse Obama’s ban on Twitter. Trump wasn’t the most followed person on Twitter, but he used it to get elected president.
Stay tuned with us Leedaily.com for more information and related articles.