In a 2+ hour talk on X with Alex Jones, Andrew Tate, Jack Posobiec, and others, Elon Musk said X should avoid outright bans unless users “do something illegal”

Elon Musk and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, newly reinstated to X after a five-year ban, launched a live-streamed chat …

Forbes 2023-12-11 Sara Dorn

Context & Ripple Effects

X had just restored Alex Jones after a five-year ban through a Musk-run user poll, reversing Musk’s earlier public refusal to reinstate Jones. The subsequent appearance gave Musk a venue to explain a broader preference for keeping users on the service unless their conduct crosses into illegality.

The significance is less the individual reinstatement than the moderation standard Musk publicly associated with it: Jones’s return after the poll is paired with a narrower rationale for outright removal than the platform had previously applied to him.

First-order effects

X’s moderation posture is publicly framed around avoiding permanent bans for conduct that is harmful or controversial but not illegal; Alex Jones and similarly situated users gain a clearer argument against exclusion.
The reinstatement becomes more than an isolated account decision, because Musk linked it to a stated principle during a high-profile live discussion.

Second-order effects

Future X enforcement decisions involving lawful but contentious speech will be measured against this stated threshold, increasing scrutiny of whether the platform applies it consistently.
The platform may rely more heavily on interventions short of bans if it seeks to act on content that does not meet Musk’s described removal standard.

Third-order effects

If this posture is consistently implemented, X would be moving toward a moderation model that treats legal compliance—not broader platform-harm standards—as the primary boundary for account removal.
That shift would make owner-led judgments and public participation, as in the poll that restored Jones’s account, more consequential to platform-governance outcomes.

The trend: This is one data point in X’s shift toward a more speech-permissive, owner-defined approach to account moderation.

Discussion

@dankim312 Dan Kim on threads
i saw this happen first hand. the first thing musk did when he gutted twitter 1.0 was to bring in a bunch of goons from his other companies (in particular tesla) to “evaluate” engineers and others. his companies are one big pot of money/resources to him, so whether you care/rea…
@owillis1977 Oliver Willis on threads
I can't imagine why Disney and IBM don't want to advertise next to rantings about how Sandy Hook victims were holograms and the WTC towers were pulled down by planted explosives (among the conspiracies Jones has promoted, I used to have to cover him for @mediamattersforamerica )
@dsilverman Dwight Silverman on threads
Occasionally I feel mild (very mild) pangs of regret for killing off my Xitter account. And then I stumble across things like this, and I rejoice unto the Lord in thankfulness for my fine judgment.
@oliverdarcy Oliver Darcy on threads
Companies, news organizations, public figures, government officials, and all the rest need to ask themselves: Is this the platform they want to hangout on?
@keubikooriginal @keubikooriginal on threads
In case you had any doubt that Linda isn't a scumbag too.
@tapaseaswar Tapas Easwar on threads
Given how Musk has used Tesla resources (engineers and finances) to prop up Twitter over the last year, at this point any financial investment in Tesla means you are more than likely directly financially supporting the likes of Jones, Tate, Ramaswamy, Carlson (and slightly more i…
@anneapplebaum2000 Anne Applebaum on threads
All the worst people in the same place at the same time
@ian_bassin Ian Bassin on threads
The richest man in the world is a dangerous lunatic using his vast resources to empower other dangerous lunatics. What could go wrong?
@benjamin_goggin_ Benjamin Goggin on threads
It's hard to believe that Elon Musk's priorities with X have anything to do with business at this point. This feels like an extended conceptual art project via policy decisions
@moskov Dustin Moskovitz on threads
Kind of impressive how it makes each of them look bad to be grouped with the others
@edcarson1971 Ed Carson on threads
Advertisers are really missing out.
@noturtlesoup17 Amanda on threads
Elon Musk: We are suing [Media Matters] in every country that they operate. And we will pursue not just the organization, but anyone funding that organization...Media Matters is an evil propaganda machine, they can go to hell. I hope they do.
@realjuddlegum Judd Legum on threads
When all these guys say “free speech” they mean we need to hear more from the guy who claimed the children murdered at Sandy Hook were actors
@kenpopehat Ken White on threads
There's the vision of free speech where you say “you can't let the government ban the Nazis from marching.” Then there's the vision of free speech that says “if I'm not marching with the Nazis I'm not supporting free speech.” I've noticed the latter is popular with techbro pers…
@cwarzel Charlie Warzel on threads
apologies for continuing to post about this but I find this spaces event just such a good encapsulation of the moment for this dude. this is the contingent that's left for Musk...these are the moves left on his chess board...Alex Jones and Laura Loomer! Just pure audience captur…
@keubikooriginal @keubikooriginal on threads
Pretty rare to have 6 of the top 10 scumbags in the U.S. all speaking at once.
@realjuddlegum Judd Legum on threads
Musk didn't just restore Alex Jones' account. He's actively promoting Jones by participating in an audio chat with him. The way this works on X is that all of Musk's 165M+ followers will be altered when they sign on. Assorted other grifters also participating.
@JoshuaHolland@mastodon.social Joshua Holland on mastodon
I've been logged out of Xitter since very early on in the Musk era but have kept my account cuz you never know how this will pan out. But I think the time has come to delete it entirely. It's just unethical to remain. #elonmusk #fascism #disinformation — [image]
@caseynewton.bsky.social Casey Newton on bluesky
He banned an account that tracked his plane, he banned journalists that wrote about it, he blocked references to Mastodon and Instagram, he dropped legal efforts to restore user speech in India. He cares about free speech only when it supports his right-wing agenda
@mmasnick.bsky.social Mike Masnick on bluesky
Also, fucking incredible to call Media Matters “an evil propaganda machine and they can go to hell” the same day he puts Alex Jones back on his platform...
@mmasnick.bsky.social Mike Masnick on bluesky
Meanwhile, speaking of Elon, he fell for some propaganda from Tucker Carlson, got Community Noted, then claimed that it was a “honey pot” to find those “gaming” Community Notes... and got Community Noted again calling bullshit on Elon's claim. 😂 [images]
@bencollins.bsky.social Ben Collins on bluesky
Media Matters fundraising pitch: [embedded post]
@mmasnick.bsky.social Mike Masnick on bluesky
Free speech absolutist promises to file more SLAPP suits over speech he doesn't like. [image]
@travisview.bsky.social Travis View on bluesky
Musk has had a lot of critical media coverage, but somehow Media Matters is the one outlet that landed enough hits to make him fly into a rage. Congrats to them. [embedded post]
@kattenbarge.bsky.social Kat Tenbarge on bluesky
The way Andrew Tate has only risen in prominence since being investigated and jailed for rape/human trafficking — in conversation with a presidential candidate and tech billionaire today — just goes to show how easy it is for alleged traffickers to achieve status and power in ful…
@bencollins.bsky.social Ben Collins on bluesky
Grim shit. [image]
@seyitaylor @seyitaylor on x
Dan is way too optimistic about the limits on the depths to which this platform can plunge to.
@marceelias Marc E. Elias on x
Does Wall Street understand that people don't want to buy a car from this guy?
@ivanthek @ivanthek on x
@Jason ... I can't tell if your spat with Sacks is performative, or if you think Alex Jones shouldn't have been allowed back.
@jason @jason on x
Folks can talk all they wish; no one is silencing them @DavidSacks. That's a complete strawman argument. The question here is, should we spend our fleeting hours on the planet with a man who repeatedly harassed the parents of murdered children? Who got a billion-dollar...
@tron @tron on x
The truth of this platform is that it has no bottom.
@davidsacks David Sacks on x
@Jason @AlexJones I thought you didn't have time for this.
@maryangelaperna Mary Angela Perna on x
@oneunderscore__ An entire panel of absolute failure and vile people
@oneunderscore__ Ben Collins on x
We are reaching terminal levels of divorce. [image]
@jason @jason on x
Alex Jones would never put me on stage.
@shayan86 Shayan Sardarizadeh on x
Elon Musk claims a Community Note added to his post about pro-Kremlin YouTuber Gonzalo Lira, a Chilean-American currently in prison in Ukraine, was added by “state actors” manipulating the system. That's a huge claim, and Musk hasn't provided any evidence for it yet.
@benjysarlin Benjy Sarlin on x
Personally this makes me want to buy a premium phone and/or watch a children's movie from a major studio
@danalarsen Dana Larsen on x
@Techmeme @sara_dorn So when is @elonjet coming back?
@brooke Brooke Hammerling on x
Literally the worst holiday party host committee in the universe. [image]
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
This shit is grim and nasty, and remember, this is at a time advertisers are looking for reasons NOT to post or advertise here. This is like being on the Titanic and seeing the captain post “lol watch me ram this iceberg ” then “actually water is good for the ship”
@gregpinelo Greg Pinelo on x
This place is a slow motion, self-driving car wreck.
r/RealTesla r on reddit
Musk is hosting a Twitter Spaces with Alex Jones and Andrew Tate

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