Twitter temporarily suspends Senator Steve Daines’ account for a hunting photo

Twitter suspended and then restored the account of Republican Senator from Montana Steve Daines over a profile picture that showed the lawmaker posing with his wife during the hunt.

The photo shows the couple with a dead antelope that has tiny bloodstains, an image that Twitter said initially violated their rules against the display of “graphic violence”, according to a press release from the senator. The company defines graphic violence as content that includes depictions of “bodily fluids, including blood.” Twitter suspended Daines’ account on Monday evening before restoring it on Tuesday, her office said.

“That is being fixed,” Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk said in a post. Tweeter. “The no showing blood in profile picture policy is being changed to ‘Clearly show blood without clicking on profile picture’.”

The temporary suspension shows how Twitter still struggles to moderate content even after Musk bought the company for $44 billion last year. The billionaire touts himself as a champion of free speech but has changed his mind about what is and isn’t allowed on the social media site. Under his leadership, Twitter temporarily suspended an account that follows Musk’s jet, and testimonials from journalists and others. Twitter, like Facebook, also reinstated account of former US President Donald Trump after the politician was suspended from the site for nearly two years for breaking rules against inciting violence.

The suspension of Daines’ account also drew criticism from Republicans, who began tweeting #FreeSteveDaines and urged Musk to reverse his decision. Republicans have repeatedly alleged that Twitter censors conservative speech, charges the social media company has repeatedly denied. Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.

Daines, who has more than 86,000 Twitter followers, said in a statement that he was grateful Musk reached out to him and he thanked the CEO on Twitter.

“The initial profile picture ban of my wife and I after a successful antelope hunt in Montana was disappointing given that it is no different from the photos that Montanese share daily on social media,” did he declare.