Musk keeps Alex Jones off Twitter over Sandy Hook massacre claims
Tesla founder says he has no mercy for anyone who uses the ‘deaths of children for gain, politics or fame’
ELON MUSK will not allow American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to return to Twitter, in a decision that appeared to be motivated by the death of his first-born child.
Mr Jones said that the Sandy Hook massacre, in which 20 children and six teachers were shot dead in 2012, was a hoax and called the parents of the victims “crisis actors”. He kept peddling the lies for years, and has been ordered to pay $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) in damages to the families of the victims.
Mr Musk, who rarely speaks about the passing of his 10-week-old son, Nevada, from sudden infant death syndrome in 2002, said he has “no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame”.
Twitter permanently suspended Mr Jones’s account and that of his Infowars website in September 2018 and Mr Musk’s decision to rule out his return revealed the extent to which the billionaire has taken the running of the microblogging site into his own hands.
After acquiring Twitter, Mr Musk pledged to set up a content moderation council to assess such decisions, but has personally overseen the reinstatement of accounts belonging to Donald Trump, Jordan Peterson and Kanye West – apparently without any oversight.
However, Mr Musk made it clear that there is no place for Mr Jones.
He was asked: “Is it time to let Alex Jones back on Twitter, Elon Musk? If not, why not?”
The Spacex and Tesla founder replied: “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
When challenged again by controversial internet tycoon Kim Dotcom, who is still facing extradition to America over his Megaupload file-sharing website, Mr Musk was unmoved, saying: “My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat.”
Mr Musk’s personal trauma, and the enduring pain felt by the parents of the Sandy Hook victims, appeared to be the motivating factor behind his decision.
It is not known if there was any council meeting or if there is a clear process for reinstating users. Mr Musk hasn’t put the decision to reinstate any other accounts – including that of Mr Jones – to a Twitter poll of the site’s 237million daily users.
Mr Jones has since acknowledged that the 2012 shooting took place, telling jurors it was “crazy” of him to repeatedly claim the shooting was a hoax.