Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter for $44bn has raised the possibility that permanently suspended accounts may be reinstated. The world's richest man, who describes himself as a 'free speech absolutist', has indicated a preference for temporary 'timeouts' over lifelong bans.
Among those hoping for a reprieve is former US President Donald Trump, banned in January 2021 after the Capitol riot. However, Trump has said he will not return to Twitter, sticking with his own platform, Truth Social. Other notable figures include Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, suspended for Covid misinformation, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, banned in 2018 for abusive behaviour.
UK figures on the list include Katie Hopkins, banned in 2020 for hateful conduct, and David Icke, removed for coronavirus misinformation. The rightwing commentator had compared migrants to cockroaches and claimed a photo of a dead Syrian boy was staged. Icke, a former BBC presenter, had made unfounded claims linking Covid-19 to 5G networks.
Also banned are rightwing writer Milo Yiannopoulos (2016), UK news aggregator @libsoftiktok (January 2022), and independent journalist Alex Berenson (for Covid misinformation). Former Trump adviser Roger Stone was suspended in 2020 after calling for the beheading of Dr Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke was permanently banned in 2020 for repeated hateful conduct violations.
