Locking Steve Daines for a chase prompts Elon Musk to overhaul Twitter policies

Senator Steve Daines is back on Twitter after being stuck on a photo showing him and his wife after a successful antelope hunt.

The Montana Republican yelled at Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday after the company reversed course on the previously flagged shotgun blast for violating the platform’s rules by describing “graphic violence.”

“I’m grateful to Elon Musk for reaching out to me to resolve this issue and I’m glad he recognizes that free speech is a foundation of our country and acted quickly to restore my Twitter account after he been informed of his suspension,” Mr. Daines said. said in a statement.

Mr Daines was told on Monday that “graphic violence” meant “any form of gory media related to death, serious injury, violence or surgery”, but Mr Musk said on Tuesday that the policy prohibiting showing blood in a profile picture was being changed. .

“This is being fixed. The policy against showing blood in the profile picture is being changed to ‘show blood clearly without clicking on the profile picture,'” Mr. Musk tweeted. “The intention is to prevent people from being forced to see horrible profile pictures.”

He added, “Going forward, Twitter will broadly embrace different values, rather than trying to impose its own specific values ​​on the world.”

The one-day suspension for a chase photo has become a rallying cry for Republicans.

Among those who rushed to Mr. Daines’ defense was Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who tweeted #FreeSteveDaines.

“If you don’t like hunting, fine, don’t go. But don’t censor those who disagree,” Cruz said. “And I’m pretty sure that’s a formal job responsibility for a Montana senator!”

Former Home Secretary Ryan Zinke tweeted ‘For those in San Francisco and beyond…HUNTING IS CONSERVATION’ and praised Mr Daines’ wife Cindy.

“This is the family photo that got @SteveDaines jailed on Twitter. Stop censoring our Montana way of life! Great photo, Cindy!” tweeted Mr. Zinke, who lives in Whitefish, Montana.

Ridiculous. My friend @SteveDaines is in @Twitter jail for posting this photo with his wife Cindy.

If you don’t like hunting, fine, don’t go. But don’t censor those who disagree.

And I’m pretty sure that’s a formal job responsibility for a Montana senator!#FreeSteveDaines pic.twitter.com/t6VdYNYe5u

—Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 7, 2023

Mr. Daines said his photo was “no different from the photos that Montanans share every day on social media.”

“It’s our way of life in Montana and we’re proud of it. I’m glad Elon Musk recognizes that,” Mr. Daines said. “The rest of the country benefits from accepting diverse thoughts and values, including Montana values.”

Conservative website Twitchy described the photo as typical of hunting photos posted regularly on social media.

“Daines did not pose with a severed head and blood splattered all over her face,” Twitchy noted. “He and his wife cleanly slaughtered an animal in hunting country. On the contrary, his profile picture promotes responsible hunting.

Critics added that the episode shows that Mr. Musk still has work to do after taking over the platform in October and pledging to turn it into a forum for free speech.

“It looks like this would be a golden opportunity for Elon Musk to step in and fix the system a bit more, because it’s clearly still broken,” Twitchy said.