Elon Musk restores X account of Alex Jones, right-wing conspiracy theorist banned for abusive behavior

Elon Musk has restored the X account of Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and far-right broadcaster known primarily for heading the fake news website InfoWars and for using that platform and others to spread false claims about the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

Jones and InfoWars were kicked off in what was called a permanent ban in 2018 from Twitter, the social media site that rebranded itself as X earlier this year under Musk's ownership. The billionaire bought Twitter in at the end of 2022 in a $44 billion deal and has since reinstated numerous accounts that had been banned before the acquisition, including several belonging to prominent controversial figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the satirical right-wing outlet Babylon Bee and former President Donald Trump, who were originally kicked off of Twitter for violating the company's rules against misinformation, hateful conduct and speech that risks inciting violence. 

Musk announced that Jones' X account would be reinstated in a post shared Saturday that included the results of a poll asking social media users whether they supported Jones' return to the site or not. He has run similar polls in the past before restoring other controversial accounts that were banned under Twitter's old leadership.