(FiveNation.com)- Elon Musk has raised a lot of eyebrows since taking over as owner and CEO of Twitter just a few weeks ago.
He’s made headlines recently for allowing a wave of previously-banned account holders back onto the platform, including former President Donald Trump. But, one person Musk says he’ll never let back on Twitter is Alex Jones.
Jones, the conspiracy theorist who runs InfoWars, was banned from Twitter some time ago, but Musk isn’t letting him back on the social media platform he now owns.
Over the weekend, author Sam Harris asked Musk:
“Is it time to let Alex Jones back on Twitter, @elonmusk? If not, why not?”
Musk’s response was a quote from the Bible from the Book of Matthew:
“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Kim Dotcom, an internet entrepreneur of German and Finnish descent, replied to Musk, writing:
“Alex f***ed up with Sandy Hook. He admitted that and apologized. He also got a lot of ‘conspiracy theories’ right. If serial liars like Biden and Trump are allowed on Twitter, then Alex Jones should be allowed to. Please reconsider in the interest of real free speech.”
Musk gave a simple and straightforward response that cut right to the chase:
“My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat. I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.”
What everyone above is referring to is the fact that Jones spoke false claims that the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was just a hoax and never happened.
For years, Jones stuck to the claim that it wasn’t an actual shooting, and that it was staged with some actors as part of a plot by the government to seize guns from Americans.
Since then, Jones did admit that the shooting happened. In all, six staff members and 20 elementary school students were killed.
Jones has since been sued by parents of some of the victims, who claimed defamation. Just this week, Jones lost an appeal that would’ve reduced the amount the victims were awarded.
The verdict, handed down in August, awarded two parents of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook almost $50 million.
Jones found himself banned from Twitter for repeated violations of the company’s terms of service under its former leadership group. But, Musk doesn’t believe that his now-private social media platform is any place for a person like Jones, even though he wants to promote free speech as much as possible.
Some people are saying that Musk is subjectively deciding who can and who can’t be on the platform, based on his own personal feelings. They may be right, but that’s also a power that Musk can rightfully say is his, since he paid billions of dollars for the company and took it private.
