'Freedom Of Speech, But Not Freedom Of Reach': Elon Musk Announces New Twitter Policy, Reinstates Accounts

'Negative/Hate Tweets Will Be Max Deboosted [And] Demonetized'

By Christopher Bertman  |  November 18, 2022

On Friday, new Twitter owner Elon Musk reinstated several previously suspended accounts and announced the platform’s new policy would be freedom of speech.

Dr. Jordan Peterson and the Babylon Bee‘s accounts were reinstated in accordance with the platform’s new policy. Comedian Kathy Griffin, who lost access to her account for violating Twitter’s terms of service regarding impersonation, also had her account access restored.

“New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach,” Musk announced on Friday. “Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter. You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet.”

“Note, this applies just to the individual tweet, not the whole account,” Musk clarified in a follow up tweet.

Some users expressed hesitation with Musk’s use of “negative” and “hate speech” by suggesting the terms were loosely defined.

“Who decides what is a ‘hate’ tweet?” said YouTuber Lauren Chen.

“what is a NEGATIVE TWEET??????????” said fellow YouTuber June Nicole Lapine, who goes by the moniker Shoe0nHead.

“What defines a ‘hate’ tweet and who decides that?” asked Timcast’s Josie Glabach, also known as the Red Headed Libertarian

Use of the term “hate speech” was previously reported as a controversial standard prior to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter citing a lack of measurement in definition.

Musk followed up announcing the restoration of former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was still being decided.

Other users urged Musk to reinstate other previously suspended accounts, including Infowars’ Alex Jones.

“Bring back Alex Jones!!!!” said one user.

The tech billionaire simply responded “No.”

“But I thought you were for Free speech??” the user rebutted.

It is unclear if Musk’s response was in jest or sincerity.

The tech billionaire’s intent to “max” deboost and demonotize negative and “hateful” tweets echoes Musk’s previous declaration that the platform could not become a “free-for-all hellscape.”

“Our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences,” said Musk in a late October letter stating his intent for purchasing Twitter. “It is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs.”

Earlier on Friday, Musk asked users what Twitter’s next move should be, later posting, “Freedom Fridays …” shortly before announcing changes to the platform’s speech policy.

In late October, Bloomberg reported Musk was considering nixing the platform’s practice of imposing lifetime bans for users violating Twitter’s content moderation policies.

Former President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter shortly after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 2021.

“I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump,” Musk previously said in an interview at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit. “I think that was a mistake.”

Speculation over Trump’s Twitter account being restored peaked after his Tuesday reveal at Mar-a-Lago, Florida announcing his third bid for the White House.

Facebook will no longer fact-check Trump now that he has officially announced his campaign for the 2024 Presidential election, according to a company memo obtained by CNN.

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