In a response to a post on his X platform, Elon Musk has announced that he will reinstate Nick Fuentes (again) on X, provided Fuentes adheres to legal constraints. Musk emphasized the value of exposing controversial opinions to public scrutiny and debate, rather than allowing them to fester unseen. He expressed a preference for controversial content to be openly discussed and countered by the community through comments and Community Notes.
Very well, he will be reinstated, provided he does not violate the law, and let him be crushed by the comments and Community Notes.
It is better to have anti whatever out in the open to be rebutted than grow simmering in the darkness.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2024
Elon went on to say that while this move to reinstate Nick Fuentes account will probably result in X losing advertisers, he will stick to his principles and go forward with the reinstatement anyway
Fate loves irony, but hates hypocrisy.
I cannot claim to be a defender of free speech, but then permanently ban someone who hasn’t violated the law, no matter how much I disagree with what they say.
This will probably cause us to lose a lot of advertisers and makes me sad, but…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2024
Elon also went on to say that although does not condone the actions of any one group, he still generally tries to see the good in all people
While I don’t condone all the actions of any one group, I must admit to being openly philosemitic, and generally try to see the good in all people
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2024
As of now, most X (Twitter) users seem happy with Elon’s decision to reinstate Nick
This will get enormous backlash but if it is to be a free speech platform, it is the right move. I say this as someone who has been viciously attacked by his followers for years now.
I do believe Nick was also incredibly radicalized as a result of censorship.
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) May 2, 2024
Let’s go 🔥! Hey @elonmusk I was demonetized permanently for sharing a breaking news story as a journalist
With no previous strikes or issues since
Is there any way to correct? I’m only getting automated messages
— E (@ElijahSchaffer) May 2, 2024
Well done.
— SNEAKO (@sneako) May 2, 2024
Musk’s move was applauded by advocates for free speech with institutional backlash expected.
Fuentes, who may have radical views, has never been found guilty or charged with a crime. He’s not credibly been accused of a crime.