Elon Musk Reinstates Alex Jones’ Account On X

Elon Musk reinstated notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ account on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday amid the billionaire’s continued loss of advertisers on the platform.

“Reinstate Alex Jones on this platform? Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk, who owns X after buying the social media platform for $44 billion last year, said in a post on Saturday. Early Sunday, Musk tweeted, “The people have spoken and so it shall be.”

Jones, who runs the conspiracy network Infowars and has spent more than a decade harassing the parents of dead children, was banned from Twitter in 2018 for violating the website’s abusive behavior policy.

Last year, Jones was ordered to pay more than $1 billion to several families of victims who were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting that left 20 kids and six adults dead. Jones spent years using his platform on Infowars to falsely claim that the families were “crisis actors” who never lost loved ones in the shooting.

During two civil trials last year, several Sandy Hook families testified about the real-world harassment they received as a product of Jones’ lies.

Parents Ian and Nicole Hockley lost their 6-year-old son, Dylan, in the shooting. They testified that lies amplified by Infowars led to listeners targeting them.

“I got sent pictures of dead kids because [harassers said] as a ‘crisis actor,’ I didn’t know what dead kids looked like,” Nicole Hockley testified.

Mark and Jackie Barden, whose 7-year-old son Daniel was killed in the shooting, testified they were sent a letter by someone claiming to have urinated on the child’s grave. Another letter threatened to dig up the grave to prove the child did not exist.

Infowars primarily makes money from selling supplements and survival gear. Court records first obtained by HuffPost last year show that the Infowars store made more money on days that Jones promoted lies about Sandy Hook.

After taking over Twitter last year, Musk responded to an account asking to bring back Jones by saying he had “no mercy” for him.

“My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat,” Musk tweeted. “I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.” (Musk’s ex-wife, Justine, later said it was actually her who held their child).

One year later, Musk has apparently embraced bringing Jones back to the platform. The decision comes as X continues to bleed advertisers who have pulled out amid Musk’s erratic behavior and his continued amplification of antisemitic conspiracies.

“If somebody’s going to try and blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself,” Musk said during The New York Times’ DealBook Summit last month. “Go. Fuck. Yourself.”

In May, Musk amplified a conspiracy that a neo-Nazi gunman who killed eight people at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas, may have been a “psyop.”

It wasn’t. The shooter had neo-Nazi tattoos, including a swastika and the SS lightning bolt logo of Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary forces.

And in October, Musk was hit with a lawsuit from a 22-year-old Jewish man after Musk falsely claimed the recent college grad was posing as a federal agent during a brawl between neo-Nazis and the neo-fascist group the Proud Boys. The man, Ben Brody, was not even in the same state where the brawl occurred.

Brody said he and his family faced harassment from those who believed Musk’s absurd claims.

“My family and I are just being harassed completely, and I would be more than happy to clear up any confusion if necessary,” Brody said in a video he posted to clear his name at the time. “This is just so ridiculous, and I just really can’t believe this is happening to me right now.”

Brody is being represented by attorney Mark Bankston of the Texas law firm Farrar & Ball. Bankston previously represented two Sandy Hook parents who won $45 million in damages against Jones.

Support HuffPostThe Stakes Have Never Been Higher

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Our News, Politics and Culture teams invest time and care working on hard-hitting investigations and researched analyses, along with quick but robust daily takes. Our Life, Health and Shopping desks provide you with well-researched, expert-vetted information you need to live your best life, while HuffPost Personal, Voices and Opinion center real stories from real people.

Help keep news free for everyone by giving us as little as $1. Your contribution will go a long way.

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Help keep news free for everyone by giving us as little as $1. Your contribution will go a long way.

As the 2024 presidential race heats up, the very foundations of our democracy are at stake. A vibrant democracy is impossible without well-informed citizens. This is why HuffPost’s journalism is free for everyone, not just those who can afford expensive paywalls.

We cannot do this without your help. Support our newsroom by contributing as little as $1 a month.

As the 2024 presidential race heats up, the very foundations of our democracy are at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a vibrant democracy is impossible without well-informed citizens. This is why we keep our journalism free for everyone, even as most other newsrooms have retreated behind expensive paywalls.

Our newsroom continues to bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes on one of the most consequential elections in recent history. Reporting on the current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly — and we need your help.

Support our newsroom by contributing as little as $1 a month.