Elon Musk has brought right-wing American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones back to X after holding a poll on his return to the platform. According to international media reports, Jones, who was ordered to pay nearly $1.5bn in damages for defaming the families of the Sandy Hook school killings in the United States, was reinstated on Sunday after about 70 percent of respondents to an unscientific poll on X backed his return. Shortly after his reinstatement, Jones posted a video teaser touting an X Spaces discussion he had with Musk and kickboxer-turned-influencer Andrew Tate. \u201cIt\u2019s way bigger than Alex Jones,\u201d the Infowars host said in the video. \u201cThis is about Renaissance 2.0, this is about free speech winning, it\u2019s about the deep state failing. This is beyond cool. Elon Musk talks about everything, including subjects he has never been asked about before, in this interview.\u201d Musk, who has cast himself as a free speech absolutist, on Saturday posted a poll asking users if Jones\u2019s account should be restored more than five years after it was permanently banned for violating Twitter\u2019s abusive behaviour policy. \u201cThe people have spoken and so it shall be,\u201d the billionaire owner of X said after a majority of the nearly 2 million respondents voted \u201cyes\u201d. The decision comes as X is under fire for allegedly facilitating a surge in disinformation and extremist content since coming under Musk\u2019s ownership last year. Major brands including Apple, Disney, IBM and Lions Gate Entertainment have left the platform in recent months amid claims the platform has encouraged anti-Semitism and other hate. X has denied stoking bigotry and last month filed a lawsuit against liberal activist group Media Matters over a report showing that ads for major brands have run beside content supporting Adolf Hitler and Nazis. Musk, who runs several companies including Tesla and SpaceX, had previously vowed not to let Jones back on the platform, saying he had \u201cno mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame\u201d. \u201cI vehemently disagree with what he said about Sandy Hook, but are we a platform that believes in freedom of speech or are we not?\u201d he said in response to a user on X on Saturday. Jones repeatedly claimed that the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that left 26 people dead was a hoax perpetrated to weaken the rights of US gun owners. Relatives of many of the victims, which included 20 children, sued Jones in Connecticut and Texas, winning nearly $1.5bn in damages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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