Elon Musk to ‘unlock doors to Twitter jail’ with amnesty for suspended accounts

Published

3 years ago

November 25, 2022

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Elon Musk has announced he will grant “amnesty” for suspended Twitter accounts – prompting experts to predict a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation.

The billionaire asked his followers in a poll to vote on reinstatements for accounts that have not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam”.

The yes vote was 72%.

“The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Mr Musk tweeted, using a Latin phrase that translates as “the voice of the people, the voice of God”.

While it was welcomed by many, the apparent decision prompted an instant flood of criticism.

Angelo Carusone, chairman and president of Media Matters, a liberal nonprofit advocacy group and media watchdog, said the move could see the return of the American Nazi Party and “a whole bunch of… conspiracy theorists who engage in harassment and abuse.”

He said reversing the suspensions would mean “turning Twitter into a one-stop shop for operationalising doxxing and harassment, and an engine of radicalisation”.

“Even if you’re not on Twitter, you can still be the recipient of these campaigns,” he told the Washington Post.

Hopewell Chin’ono, an award-winning African journalist, tweeted: “This would be a major disaster especially in Africa where State sponsored Ghost accounts were suspended for endangering human rights activists & journalists.

“You would have allowed vile people to put our lives in danger as journalists! You will have blood on your hands @elonmusk.”

Michael Edison Hayden, of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, said Mr Musk was “bringing white supremacy back in a big way and wants everyone to know about it”.

He listed a series of far-right and white supremacist figures including former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, whose accounts he indicated would be reinstated as a result of the move.

Matt Navarra, a social media expert and former digital advisor to the UK government, said: “Elon Musk is unlocking all the doors in the Twitter Jail. Things gonna get a bit more crazy.”

The Tesla and SpaceX boss used the same Latin phrase after posting a similar poll last weekend before reinstating the account of former president Donald Trump, almost two years after he was removed.

Mr Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter in January 2021 after the attack by his supporters on the US Capitol that left several people dead.

Twitter said the decision, after the riot, was “due to the risk of further incitement of violence”.

More than 15 million votes were cast, but the former president told a rally on Saturday evening: “I don’t see any reason for [returning to Twitter].”

Kanye West also returned to the platform earlier this week, after previously having his account restricted after saying he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”.

In posts on Wednesday morning, Mr Musk appeared to mock detractors who had criticised his methods.

“Wasn’t Twitter supposed to die by now or something?” he posted, followed by “Maybe we’ve gone to heaven/hell and don’t know it.”

Following Musk’s $44bn Twitter takeover, many workers were either sacked by the company to cut costs, or left voluntarily.

Business Insider reported on Thursday that Musk fired “several dozen” more Twitter employees late on Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving in the US.

The firings are said to have come as a surprise to staff after Musk said in a meeting earlier this week that there would be no more lay-offs at the company.

World

Thousands defy ban to join Pride march in Budapest

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2025

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Thousands defy ban to join Pride march in Budapest

If Hungary’s authorities thought banning this year’s Pride march would keep people off the streets, they were wrong.

Thousands turned out in Budapest, defying a law which said LGBTQ+ events like this should be cancelled to protect children.

The crowd was determined to fight for their rights.

“This is a special march, not just because it was the 30th, but also because it was banned,” said Orsi, who proudly wore a rainbow headband and waved a rainbow flag.

“I mean that’s all the more reason to go out on the street and show that Budapest and Hungary is a place where everybody is welcome, where love is equal,” she added.

Attendees had been warned that just being there could mean a 500 euro fine or prison time for the organisers.

They were told police would use facial recognition cameras to identify them, but they didn’t care.

Orsi said it was worth a fine.

Leonas had travelled from Poland to show his support and was also happy to take the risk.

“LGBT rights are attacked across the whole world, and we need to defend each other and work with each other,” he said.

Viktor Orban’s government has repeatedly pitched family values against LGBTQ+ rights.

“The mother is a woman, the father is a man and leave our kids alone,” he told conservative audiences in the past.

He says he is protecting Hungary’s Christian values, but critics say this is just part of a wider attack on democracy which has happened during his 15 years in control.

The Pride ban is just the latest targeting of LGBTQ+ communities.

In 2020, the country abolished its legal recognition of transgender people, and in 2021, politicians passed a law banning the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s.

While many were outraged by the attempt to cancel the Pride march, a small number of far-right activists organised demonstrations to show their support:

“Hungary and the Hungarian nation don’t want the aggressive LGBTQ+ propaganda. They are dangerous for our families, they are dangerous for our kids,” said Gabor Kelemen, a member of the 64 Counties Youth Movement.

However, the packed streets showed many disagree.

At one point, as far as the eye could see, the march snaked through streets and across the city’s bridges. The sound of drums and whistles mixing with gay anthems blaring out of speakers.

The organisers said they believed this will be the largest Pride march ever in Budapest.

The crowd was eclectic, with Hungarians from different communities joining a demonstration which many believe is now part of a fight for Hungary’s future.

“This is not only about the complexity of Pride, not only about love or equality… for Hungarians, it’s about sticking together, supporting each other, showing the government that we believe in a different kind of Hungary. We believe in freedom, we believe in democracy,” said activist Adam Kanicsar.

Despite the ban, today Pride attendees were celebrating a victory. But make no mistake, many in Hungary do not support the parade or what they see as an attack on traditional values.

Next year, the country will hold a general election, a vote which will expose how divided Hungary really is.

World

Chants of ‘death to America’ at funeral for Iranian military commanders and scientists

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2025

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Chants of 'death to America' at funeral for Iranian military commanders and scientists

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Tehran to mourn top military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.

State-run Press TV said the event – dubbed the “funeral procession of the Martyrs of Power” – was held for 60 people, including four women and four children.

It said at least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among the dead, including head of the Revolutionary Guard General Hossein Salami and the head of the guard’s ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins were driven to Azadi Square on trucks adorned with their pictures as well as rose petals and flowers, as crowds waved Iranian flags.

Chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel” could be heard.

Attending the funeral were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures, including Ali Shamkhani who was seriously wounded during the fighting and is an adviser to Iran‘s supreme leader.

There was no immediate sign of the supreme leader in the state broadcast of the funeral.

Iran’s president later thanked people for turning out.

“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you dear people,” Mr Pezeshkian wrote on social media.

“With love, you bid farewell to the martyrs of our homeland, and our voice of unity reached the ears of the world.”

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called the deaths “hard and painful”.

Seemingly referencing the recent airstrikes, he added: “Institutions and structures, however important and valuable, return with new glory and greater strength over time, even if it takes years.”

Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said its attacks on Iran aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.

The US joined in by launching strikes on three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran, which Donald Trump said left them “obliterated”, however the exact extent of the damage remains unclear.

Iran denies having a nuclear weapons programme and the UN nuclear watchdog, which carries out inspections in Iran, has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons project.

Over almost two weeks of fighting, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, before a ceasefire began on Tuesday.