Alex Jones Has Been Reinstated On X/Twitter After More Than Five Years

InfoWars founder Alex Jones has been welcomed back to X after Elon Musk polled users on whether he should be unbanned. Jones was permanently suspended from what was then known as Twitter in 2018, kicking off a rampage of permanent bans that did not stop until Musk bought the platfrom.

Musk — who purchased Twitter due to free speech concerns — has repeatedly referred to the platform as the “digital town square.” He has also stated that he is not in favor of permanent bans outside of extreme circumstances.

While most banned users had their accounts reinstated after Musk took control, Jones has remained banned the entire time. This was discussed during Jones’ two-hour interview with Tucker Carlson, which led Musk to say he was “open” to the idea. He then put the question up to a simple yes or no poll and gave users 24 hours to decide.

Jones was ultimately reinstated after more than 70 percent of respondents said he should be welcomed back.

Reinstate Alex Jones on this platform?

Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2023

As the poll was winding down Saturday evening and it became clear that Jones would be allowed back. the InfoWars founder posted a video statement in which he thanked Musk for the opportunity to defend himself. Jones was ordered to pay an unprecedented $1.5 billion to families of the Sandy Hook school shootings in a defamation case last year, though he has said that he was “railroaded” and has never had the opportunity to discuss it until now.

“First off, I didn’t say the things they said. I was railroaded like Trump was being railroaded. Judges found me guilty. But because I haven’t been on X or any other platform, I haven’t been able to respond and actually say what really happened,” Jones said. “But separately, it’s not about Alex Jones. It’s about all of you losing your rights. I was one of the first big dominoes to fall. And since then, we’ve seen governments and big corporations working to suppress the ideas, the thoughts of the people, not just of America, but the world, and to openly engage in election meddling.”

He went on to commend Musk for taking risks to defend free speech.