Newly minted Twitter owner and chief executive Elon Musk used a Bible passage to defend his decision to keep conspiracy theorist Alex Jones off the social media platform.
Jones and the account linked to his website, InfoWars, were banned from Twitter in 2018.
Musk, who officially became the owner and CEO of Twitter in late October, responded Sunday to a tweet from famed atheist Sam Harris, who asked the entrepreneur if he planned to reinstate Jones’ account — a question that arose after Musk restored the accounts of the Christian satire website The Babylon Bee, Canadian psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, and, most notably, former President Donald Trump.
Is it time to let Alex Jones back on Twitter, @elonmusk? If not, why not?
— Sam Harris (@SamHarrisOrg) November 21, 2022
For all intents and purposes, it does not appear Musk is a believer. He is prone to sharing sacrilegious comments and is often described as agnostic or even atheistic in his beliefs.
Another Twitter user criticized Musk for choosing to allow Trump and even current President Joe Biden to remain on the platform while refusing to reinstate Jones’ account.
“If serial liars like Biden and Trump are allowed on Twitter, then Alex Jones should be allowed, too,” tweeted the critic. “Please reconsider in the interest of real free speech.”
Musk, for his part, noted his very personal reason for keeping the InfoWars founder off Twitter. He referred to the death of the son he shared with his first wife, Justine. In 2002, they lost their son, who died of sudden infant death syndrome at just 10 weeks old.
“My firstborn child died in my arms,” he wrote. “I felt his last heartbeat. I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.”
Musk’s response comes on the heels of a defamation trial in which a Connecticut judge ordered Jones to pay $1.44 billion for falsely claiming the December 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a staged hoax. Twenty children and six adults were killed during the rampage in Newtown, Connecticut.
Jones, however, seems unbothered by Musk’s refusal to reinstate his account.
In a video posted to his Rumble account, Jones said he doesn’t hold Musk accountable for his initial ouster from Twitter, adding, “Quite frankly, I don’t care if I get brought back to Twitter.”
via wnd
