Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter has led to speculation that Twitter accounts like those of Donald Trump and Katie Hopkins could be about to return. Musk's $44 billion (£38 billion) purchase of the social networking giant was completed this week. In the past, the Tesla and SpaceX mogul has insisted that accounts like Trump would be able to return and reports now say he will reverse lifetime bans. He has fired a number of top executives including Vijaya Gadde, said to be responsible for the decision to permanently suspend the former president in the wake of the January 6 riots at the Capitol in 2021. Conservative voices have long argued that Twitter restricts their speech, but some have hailed the arrival of the self-declared "Chief Twit" billionaire.
Though it is unclear which accounts will be allowed to return, several users may find they are allowed back under Musk's stewardship. Controversial Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was once suspended for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus. Greene now has another account, which she sued to hail Musk's return by tweeting: "FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!!" She has since added another more cryptic tweet, saying: "Just wait until tomorrow." Hoping to calm nerves, Musk said in a letter to Twitter advertisers: "That is why I bought Twitter. I didn't do it because it would be easy. "I didn't do it to make more money. I did it to help humanity, whom I love. "Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences." A number of suspended people could be set to return. We have taken look at who could be.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump's false claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged caused the 45th president to be banned following the January 6 riot. His supporters stormed the seat of the US legislative branch, with some threatening death to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. Even accounts such as the '@POTUS' account were suspended as Trump tried to get around the ban. Despite Trump's repeated use of Twitter to spout his election denial, the ban was controversial among many who cited concerns about Twitter's power as a private company to ban elected individuals. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said at the time that it was the right decision but that "a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation." Trump continues to deny he lost the election and was recently subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 select committee to give evidence before them.
Steve Bannon
Steve Bannon was permanently suspended after a video called for public officials to have their heads stuck on pikes like in the "old times of Tudor England". Once Trump's right-hand man during his election campaign, Bannon remains controversial for his association with the alt-right news outlet Breitbart. Breitbart has repeatedly misled the public with false stories, but Bannon was banned after a video of his War Room: Pandemic went viral. In it, he called for National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) head Dr Anthony Fauci and FBI director Chris Wray to be fired. He said: "I'd put the heads on pikes, right? I'd put them at the two corners of the White House as a warning to Federal Bureaucrats: you either get with the program or you're gone. Time to stop playing games." Twitter said the post violated their policy on the glorification of violence.
David Icke
Conspiracy theorist David Icke believes the Royal Family are lizards. He was suspended from Twitter in 2020 after "the account referenced has been permanently suspended for violating Twitter's rules regarding Covid misinformation," Twitter said. Among Icke's beliefs are that 9/11 was an inside job and that climate change was a host, but his Covid-related theories claim that 5G masts were giving off radio emissions that gave people the infectious disease.
Alex Jones
Alex Jones was banned by Twitter in 2018 after "new reports of tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behaviour policy, in addition to the accounts' past violations". Jones is the man behind the site InfoWars and claimed on Twitter that Democrats were planning a civil war and that Muslims in the UK were demanding the late Queen convert to Islam. He even claimed that former President Barack Obama was the head of the terrorist militant group ISIS. The conspiracy may be put off using Twitter to once again pedal his theories after he was ordered to pay just shy of £1 billion to the victims of Sandy Hook, after claiming the school mass shooting was a hoax.
Wiley
UK rapper Wiley was banned from Twitter after antisemitic comments. After announcing his ban, Twitter apologised for not moving faster when Wiley compared the Jewish community to the white nationalist group the Ku Klux Kan. His comments sparked a boycott from high profiles Brits including actors Jason Isaacs and Tracy-Ann Oberman and comedian Robert Webb.
Gavin McInnes and Proud Boys
Twitter suspended the accounts of the far-right and neo-fascist group the Proud Boys, along with its founder Gavin McInnes in 2018. The decision came after Twitter said they had fallen foul of the policy on "violent extremist groups". It was in the wake of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the year before. The Southern Law Poverty Centre (SPLC) describes the Proud Boys organisation as a broad coalition of extremists including Neo-Nazis, antisemites and militias.
Kate Hopkins
Far-right commentator Katie Hopkins was given a lifetime ban for what Twitter saw as repeated violations of their anti-hate policy. She was first suspended temporarily in January 2020 for a tweet that blaster UK rapper Stormzy and she claimed white men in the UK were at the "back of the line" and a "minority with no rights". Twitter said at the time: "Keeping Twitter safe is a top priority for us – abuse and hateful conduct have no place on our service and we will continue to take action when our rules are broken." She was permanently suspended in June of that year. The former LBC and MailOnline columnist was maligned after she said there must be a "final solution" for dealing with terrorists in the wake of the Manchester bombings in 2017.
