Twitter reinstates Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Elon Musk’s Twitter has reinstated the personal account of far-right representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was banned in January for violating the platform’s COVID misinformation policies at the time.

Greene’s reinstatement comes after Musk last weekend restored former President Donald Trump’s account, which was banned following the deadly Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill in 2021. Twitter – at the time – feared there was a risk of further incitement to violence if Trump was allowed to remain on the platform. Trump himself said he would not return to Twitter, and as of Monday had yet to tweet since reinstatement, although he had not deleted his account either.

Musk apparently based his decision to allow Trump back on the site on an unscientific Twitter poll he posted on his timeline. There appears to have been no such poll on Greene’s behalf. Earlier, Musk said he wouldn’t make major decisions about content or restoring banned accounts before setting up a “content moderation board” with diverse views.

Musk has frequently expressed his belief that Twitter has become too restrictive. Ahead of the US midterm elections this month, he urged his “independent” Twitter followers to vote Republican.

One account Musk has said he won’t allow back on Twitter is that of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was banned in 2018 for abusive behavior.

“My firstborn died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat,” Musk tweeted Sunday in response to calls for Jones to be reinstated. “I have no mercy for anyone who uses the death of children for profit, politics or fame.”