The Big Names We Expect Could Be Unbanned From Twitter

Alex Jones is another controversial figure who might be making a comeback to Twitter. The radio host was “permanently suspended” in 2018 for violating Twitter’s abusive behavior policy by sharing conspiracy theories and openly inciting violence via his outlet, InfoWars (via Twitter Safety). At the time, NPR reported that Jones was unrepentant about his actions, claiming that he was banned because he was telling the truth. Jones and InfoWars were also suspended by Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify, so it might be bad optics for Twitter and subsequently Elon Musk if they’re allowed re-entry on the platform.

We might also see the return of some public figures who used Twitter to share false information about the Covid-19 virus during the pandemic. This group includes David Duke, the prominent white supremacist and former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, who was permanently banned from the platform in July 2020 for sharing racist, anti-semitic posts and Covid-19 misinformation (via CNN); Aubrey Huff, former San Francisco Giants baseball star, who was banned in August 2021 for spreading rumors that the vaccine could make people sicker (via NBC); and Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican congresswoman who was banned in January 2022 after being repeatedly flagged for posting Covid-19 misinformation (via BBC).