Elon Musk has reinstated the right-wing American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on X after conducting an unscientific poll on Jones’s return to the platform. Musk posted a poll on Saturday asking users if Jones’s account should be restored, and after nearly 2 million respondents voted “yes”, Musk said, “The people have spoken and so it shall be.”
This move comes as X has faced criticism for allegedly enabling a surge in disinformation and extremist content since coming under Musk’s ownership last year. Major brands like Apple, Disney, IBM, and Lions Gate Entertainment have left the platform in recent months amid claims that it has encouraged anti-Semitism and other forms of hate.
Musk, who has positioned himself as a defender of free speech, had previously stated that he would not let Jones back on the platform, citing Jones’s defamatory statements about the families of the Sandy Hook school killings. However, Musk’s decision to reinstate Jones has been met with controversy, especially from the victims’ relatives who sued Jones and won nearly $1.5bn in damages for his defamatory remarks.
Meanwhile, Jones celebrated his return by posting a video teaser of an X Spaces discussion with Musk and Andrew Tate, where he proclaimed the event as “Renaissance 2.0” and a victory for free speech.
Musk’s decision to bring back Jones on X despite his past statements and legal troubles has sparked a debate about the platform’s commitment to freedom of speech and its responsibility to prevent the spread of harmful content.