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Banned by Twitter: Accounts Recoverable After Musk Acquisition Twitter

Elon Musk’s self-recognized status as an “absolutist of freedom of speech” raises the possibility that he will lift the ban on people whose Twitter accounts have been permanently suspended from the platform. The world’s richest man, who agreed to buy Twitter for $ 44 billion (£ 34 billion), said he preferred to give users a timeout instead of a life ban.

Here are some of the most celebrities banned by Twitter who can hope for a reprieve.

Donald Trump

The profile of the then President of the United States was suspended on January 8, 2021, two days after the storming of the US Capitol. Announcing the ban, Twitter cited Trump’s repeated violations of company rules and the risk of “further incitement to violence.” Trump, who had more than 88 million followers when he was banned, said Monday that he does not intend to return to Twitter by sticking to his rival platform, Truth Social.

Marjorie Taylor Green

The Republican Georgia congresswoman’s personal account was permanently suspended in January this year for violating coronavirus disinformation policies. She has since expressed hope in her official government account that she will be able to tweet again using her personal profile after the deal with Musk.

Alex Jones

The profile of the right-wing conspiracy theorist and that of his website Infowars were suspended in 2018 due to violations of the policy for abusing the platform of behavior. The two accounts had about 1.3 million followers together.

Milo Yanopoulos

The right-wing writer was banned in 2016 for her role in the online abuse of actor Leslie Jones for her role in restarting Ghostbusters. Yanopoulos told Breitbart.com that stopping it was “cowardly” and proof that Twitter was a “conservative no-brainer.”

Policy for all

The popular UK news collection service was banned in the UK in January for violating the rules on platform manipulation and spam. His success in going viral on Twitter has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers, including lawmakers and government ministers.

David Ike

One of the UK’s most prominent conspiracy theorists, Ike was banned in 2020 for violating coronavirus disinformation policies. The former BBC presenter has made a number of baseless allegations about the virus on several Internet platforms, including a discredited theory that it is linked to the launch of the 5G mobile network.

Katie Hopkins

The profile of the British right-wing commentator was suspended in 2020 for violating the platform’s policy of “hateful behavior”. Hopkins, who had more than 1.1 million followers, was removed to “keep Twitter safe,” according to the company. Her historical comments include comparing migrants to cockroaches and claiming that the photo of a dead Syrian boy lying on a beach that sparked a wave of compassion across Europe was staged.

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Alex Berenson

The American independent journalist was banned from violating the rules for misinformation about the coronavirus on the site. He subsequently filed a federal lawsuit against Twitter seeking his recovery.

Steve Bannon

The account of the former Trump adviser was suspended in 2020 after he called for the beheading of Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key figure in the US government’s battle against Covid-19, and FBI Director Christopher Ray. He also called for their heads to be placed in front of the White House as a “warning”.

David Duke

The former great wizard of the Ku Klux Klan was suspended permanently in 2020 due to repeated violations of Twitter’s rules of hate behavior. Twitter’s decision to ban Duke permanently came more than a decade after setting up its account in 2009 and more than eight years after it began publishing regularly in 2012.