Last Updated on October 30, 2022
With Elon Musk now officially in charge of Twitter, a number of previously banned accounts are beginning to filter back. Kanye West and satire site The Babylon Bee are among the notable returns, though several figures, including former President Trump, remain banned at this time. Musk has stated that permanent user bans will be overturned and has announced the formation of a content moderation advisory council that will host a number of viewpoints.
Hip-hop legend Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye,” was suspended from the platform earlier this month. West has yet to tweet from the account, and it is unclear if he has been granted access at this time. Clicking on a link to the account did direct to an “account suspended” notification as of last week, however. It now appears intact.
The Babylon Bee, a satirical news site, now also appears without an “account suspended” notification. Like Ye, the Babylon Bee has yet to make a post since March, when the account was banned for referring to transgender U.S. health official Rachel Levine as a “man.”
Twitter offered to let the Bee stay on if the tweet was deleted. This was rejected, with the Babylon Bee stating that doing so would be compromising their values and a cave to the mob.
The banning of the satire site is rumored to be one of Musk’s motivations for buying Twitter. According to Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, the tech mogul contacted him shortly before becoming Twitter’s largest shareholder, which turned out to be his first move towards buying the platform outright.
Musk initially hoped to be able to influence change from Twitter’s board of directors, but after polling followers and analyzing Twitter’s commitment to free speech, he sought to buy the company outright.
“Musk reached out to us before he polled his followers about Twitter’s commitment to free speech,” Dillon reported in April. “He wanted to confirm that we had, in fact, been suspended. He even mused on that call that he might need to buy Twitter. Now he’s the largest shareholder and has a seat on the board.”
Musk reached out to us before he polled his followers about Twitter's commitment to free speech. He wanted to confirm that we had, in fact, been suspended. He even mused on that call that he might need to buy Twitter. Now he's the largest shareholder and has a seat on the board.
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) April 5, 2022
With Musk now in charge of Twitter, he has announced that a new content moderation council will be formed in order to review the company’s moderating processes. “Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints,” Musk wrote in a tweet on Friday. “No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.”
Musk has previously stated that former President Trump will ultimately be allowed back on the platform, but there is currently no timetable on when he or other prominent figures will be formally reinstated.