The new Twitter owner Elon Musk has shaken up the microblogging site’s functioning since his take over. In the latest move, he has reinstated former US President Donald Trump’s account.
Trump's account is promptly shown on the microblogging site since his account was reinstated. He was barred from the platform following the US Capitol riots which happened on January 6, 2021.
Domald Trump's account reinstated | Screengrab
Musk, conducted a poll on Twitter, “Reinstate former President Trump” where over 50% of the public wanted Trump’s account, who announced his White House bid recently, reinstated. Nearly 15 million users voted in the poll.
Following the 24-hour-poll's closure, Musk said, "The people have spoken." He added, "Trump will be reinstated," and also wrote a Latin Phrase "Vox Populi, Vox Dei," which means that the voice of the people is the voice of God.
The businessman reportedly had more than 88 million followers when his account was suspended and would often use the platform as his mouthpiece during his presidency posting policy announcements, attacking political rivals and communicating with supporters.
Trump's suspension
Twitter's top lawyer, Indian-American Vijaya Gadde was at the forefront of the dramatic decision to suspend the former US President's Twitter account.
Gadde had tweeted that the "account of @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further violence. We've also published our policy enforcement analysis - you can read more about our decision here", linking to a Twitter blogpost about the company's decision to permanently suspend Trump's Twitter account through which he communicated to his more than 88 million followers.
Gadde, CEO Parag Agrawal, legal executive Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and General Counsel Sean Edgett were among the top Twitter executives fired by Musk immediately after he took control of the social media company following a 44-billion-dollar acquisition.
At the time when Trump's Twitter account was reinstated, it showed that he had one million followers and that number quickly grew to 2.1 million in just under 30 minutes.
(With PTI inputs)
