Tesla CEO and the new Twitter owner, Elon Musk, has ruled out demands to reinstate the account of ultra Right-wing political commentator Alex Jones.
In a tweet on Friday (November 18), Elon Musk sought suggestions from his followers about the future course of action of the social media platform. “What should Twitter do next?” he asked.
A day later, one Twitter user (@hardcoreNolley) demanded that Musk un-ban the account of Alex Jones. The new ‘Twit Chief’ was quick to turn down such a request with a resounding ‘No’.
Bring back Alex Jones!!!!
— OriginolleY (@HardcoreNolley) November 18, 2022
On Saturday (November 19), ‘Youtuber’ Viva Frei again asked Elon Musk to reconsider his stand on Alex Jones
“Alex Jones is the litmus test Elon Musk. Not just on the issue of freedom of speech, but on the issue of not bending the knee to political and judicial intimidation,” he claimed.
“If this is a hard “no”, your Twitter will never be any more trustworthy than Parag Agrawal or Jack Dorsey’s Twitter,” asserted Viva Frei. “Too bad”, Musk responded, indicating that he did not need to un-ban Jones to make Twitter trustworthy to its users.
Too bad
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
The demand to restore the Twitter account of Alex Jones gained momentum following the re-activation of former US President Donald Trump and controversial American rapper Kanye West’s Twitter accounts.
Author Sam Harris asked on Monday (November 21), “Is it time to let Alex Jones back on Twitter, @elonmusk? If not, why not?” The new Twitter owner responded with a Biblical passage, indicating that those who mock the suffering of children won’t be entertained.
“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven,” Musk wrote.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2022
However, supporters of Alex Jones kept insisting that Musk reinstate the account of the ultra-conservative political commentator.
Entrepreneur Kim Dotcom tweeted, “Alex fucked up with Sandy Hook. He admitted that and apologized. He also got a lot of “conspiracy theories” right.”
He further claimed that if ‘serial liars’ such as Donald Trump and Joe Biden can be platformed on Twitter, then, Alex Jones should not be made the scapegoat. “Please reconsider in the interest of ‘real’ free speech,” he added.
My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2022
I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.
Elon Musk responded with a personal story and pointed out he has no respect for those who exploit the death of children for fame or political gains.
“My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat. I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame,” he emphasised, making it clear that Alex Jones will not return to Twitter in foreseeable future.
Alex Jones and Sandy Hook mass shooting
On December 14, 2012, a 20-year-old white supremacist Adam Lanza gunned down 26 people at the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut.
The victims included 6 adults and 20 children, aged between 6-7 years. Through many of his shows, Jones had kept on claiming that the deadly 2012 school shooting in Connecticut was “an elaborate ruse to force gun control in the USA”, and that the grieving parents were all actors.
Alex Jones was sued by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old victim Jesse Lewis who had lost his life in the massacre, along with 19 other students and 6 teachers.
Following the courtroom drama, Jones reportedly admitted that he had been ‘irresponsible’ and that the shooting was 100% real. In August this year, he was asked by a Texas Court to compensate the victims’ families with $50 million.
In October, a jury in Connecticut decided that Jones must pay $965 million to those who suffered due to his disinformation campaign about the Sandy Hook mass shooting case.
