Elon Musk punted on a decision to reinstate former President Donald Trump to Twitter on Friday as he announced lifting bans on three other suspended accounts.
“Trump decision has not yet been made,” Musk tweeted on Friday.
The tech mogul did reveal the reinstatement of satirical news site the Babylon Bee, controversial author Jordan Peterson and firebrand comedian Kathy Griffin.
“New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach,” Musk tweeted, explaining his decision.
“Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter.”
Musk added: “You won’t find the [individual] tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet.”
Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion, has long pledged to reinstate Trump, who has been banned from the app since the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the US Capitol.
Trump, for his part, has vowed to stay on Truth Social, the social media app that he founded after he was kicked off mainstream platforms following the Capitol riot.
Large brands that advertise on Twitter have reportedly threatened to sever ties with the site if Musk reinstates Trump.
The Babylon Bee was booted off Twitter earlier this year when it posted a link to a satirical news story announcing that a transgender member of the Biden administration, Rachel Levine, was named “man of the year.”
Griffin, who infamously was photographed holding what was intended to depict the severed head of Trump after he was elected president in 2016, was banned from Twitter in recent weeks for impersonating Musk after he changed the site’s blue-tick verification process.
Peterson, the Canadian self-help author and psychologist, was banned from Twitter in the summer after he commented on the gender transition surgery undergone by the actor Elliot Page.
After Musk took ownership of Twitter, the service rolled out a new “blue-check” verification program, Twitter Blue, whereby users could purchase the badge for $8 per month.
Pranksters took advantage of the offer and impersonated well-known celebrities, political figures and corporate brands. They then posted nonsensical items for laughs.
One prankster passed themselves off as the official Twitter account of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and pledged to give away free insulin — causing the company’s stock to drop precipitously.
Since Musk assumed the helm three weeks ago, Twitter has been in chaos.
A mass exodus of employees who refused Musk’s ultimatum to commit to a “hardcore” work schedule has left a skeleton staff at the site — leading some to predict that the app will collapse.