Twitter can thank the far-right Elon Musk

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“Come as you are.” That’s the message Twitter has sent in recent days by resurrecting many far-right figures. Banned at the end of 2021, Renaud Camus was able to rejoin the platform on January 25, and he did not hesitate to make up for lost time by compulsively tweeting while passing on his old publications. “A flying charter is a prison that closes”he thus retweeted to test the Elon Musk-bought platform’s new moderation policy.

The return of the man who put “big payback” on everyone’s lips was welcomed by Gilbert Collard, former gate of Génération identitaire, and former Génération identitaire gate Damien Rieu, before immediately moving on to Reconquest. Collected to Éric Zemmour.

Twitter didn’t stop there. With the group shot, the platform also stopped the suspension of Jean Messiha, who was also banned in 2021. “The bird is free! Jean Messiah is back! Thank you very much Elon Musk!”He was quick to comment on past support of RN and Reconquest.

It is claimed that the account of the anti-Semitic essayist was re-opened on the Telegram messenger “Alain Soral” account. Small subtlety: his account is still not accessible from France (a restriction that is not too difficult to bypass with a VPN).

Moderation with musk sauce

A few weeks after officially buying Twitter in late October, Elon Musk launched military operations while tweeting: “The people have spoken. The amnesty will start next week. Vox Populi vox dei”. Tesla’s boss has a great role and made it his own. With this statement, he vows to respect the results of a poll published on his account regarding a “general amnesty” for suspended accounts.

On the far right, the message is received five out of five. Unlike Donald Trump, who has yet to invest in his beloved platform, Hervé Ryssen, a multiple convicted anti-Semite and Holocaust denier, didn’t wait long to tweet again.

Others, such as Pierre-Nicolas Nups, the Lorraine leader of the Parti de la France, who was convicted in 2018 of inciting violence and homophobic hatred, even managed to return to the platform before the inquiry. Like Hervé Ryssen, this framework of a movement close to Reconquest does not hesitate to overuse the “freedom” promoted by Elon Musk. Below is a tweet that explains it “Hitler’s first love was a Jew”, answers that“He broke her heart, so he broke her race”. Comments that are still online six days after being posted.

This resurgence of the most radical elements of the far right on Twitter was so predictable…he saw it coming. Mathieu Goyer, the young manager of Civitas Paris, from the first rumors of a Twitter takeover by Tesla’s boss, had fun predicting the future of the platform happily:”We can see the return to Twitter of the accounts of Donald Trump, Rivarol, Alain Soral, Equality & Reconciliation, Hervé Ryssen, Thaïs d’Escufon… and many others. The Twitter takeover heralds a great deal of good news indeed.”

It is clear that the prediction is correct: a large part of these personalities have already found a place for themselves in the social network. Elon Musk, the far right says thank you.

“Finally free Twitter!”

Elon Musk screams it out again: his takeover of Twitter will be accompanied by greater freedom of expression. This communication quickly attracted the French far right, which, like Mathieu Goyer of Civitas, saw the billionaire as an ally of the circumstances that allowed him to make all sorts of comments. But what does Tesla’s boss gain in this case? There is no financial upside to buying Twitter. This allows Elon Musk to mostly reinforce his libertarian image and pocket the most dissident activists in his social network. One way would be to revive it by polarizing it.

Although Elon Musk took advantage of it, this new policy of moderation benefits not only the French far-right, but also the spheres where the pandemic is only a conspiracy. Ufologist Silvano Trotta, opposed to health restrictions and a great advocate of the “Great Reset”, also benefited from the “general amnesty”. Away from Twitter, he successfully built a new community on Telegram messaging. However, he did not shy away from the possibility of finding 90,000 subscribers on the “blue bird” social network. he tweeted in mid-December:

Not everyone is as satisfied as Silvano Trott. Some frustrations point out that there is always moderation in the social network, even if it is small. In mid-December, the president of the French Party, Thomas Joly, paid the price. “Elon Musk’s Twitter version of freedom of expression is quickly reaching its limit”he was furious after his Telegram account was suspended.

Is Donald Trump coming back soon?

Not surprisingly, a similar movement is occurring across the Atlantic. Banned on Instagram, Twitch, TikTok and YouTube, Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist broadcaster who was for Hitler “really cool”, his Twitter account was unblocked on January 24. A “Space” on Twitter and then it leaves: less than twenty-four hours after being granted permission, his account was closed again after anti-Semitic remarks. Other American extremist figures like Ryan Dawson and Andrew Anglin are always welcome for the moment.

With just over a year to go since the US presidential election, it’s an understatement to say that Donald Trump is eagerly awaited on Twitter. The former president of the United States made the social network his favorite communication weapon. With the takeover of the platform by Elon Musk and the “general amnesty” policy, the leader of the alt-right gets the right to return. And it may only be a few months.

According to “Rolling Stone” magazine, the exclusive contract with the social network “Truth”, created by the billionaire after exile, is expected to expire in June. Will restoring 87 million tweets after a disappointing midterm election for Republicans help Trump regain his seat in the White House?