Over 52% Believe Trump’s Twitter Account Reinstatement Is Justified

Former U.S. President Donald Trump may have had one of the most controversial Twitter accounts in the past few years. Trump was notoriously known for his vocal and inflammatory Twitter presence during his presidency, which often made headlines. On January 2021, this escalated to the permanent suspension of Trump’s Twitter account for tweets deemed to violate the platform’s terms.

At the end of October 2022, Elon Musk became the new owner of Twitter and promised changes to the platform. These changes included a new content moderation system and the reinstatement of previously banned/suspended accounts. So far, Elon Musk’s management of Twitter has brought about increased controversy, most notably through his blue check mark subscription model.

Finally, on November 19, 2022, Elon Musk conducted a Twitter poll about reinstating Former U.S. President Trump’s Twitter account. The poll received 15 million votes, and the majority won by a narrow (51.8%) margin for Trump’s Twitter account reinstatement.

Trump has noted that he will not return to Twitter. Despite Elon Musk reinstating Trump’s Twitter account, the former U.S. president is determined to primarily use Truth Social, an alternative social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group.

In light of Elon Musk reinstating Trump’s Twitter account, Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey to gather public opinions about Elon Musk’s reinstatement of Trump’s Twitter account and the nature of Twitter’s reinstatement and banning/suspension policies.

Almost 1 in 5 respondents Voted on Trump’s Twitter Reinstatement Poll

We asked respondents if they were aware of Elon Musk’s poll about reinstating former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. 32.12% were aware, 26.23% were only marginally aware, 22.98% weren’t aware, and 18.66% voted for the Twitter poll.

Highlights

• 37.05% thought Twitter banning Former U.S. President Trump’s account was highly justified
• 38.66% highly supported Trump’s Twitter reinstatement through Elon Musk’s poll
• 36.7% were for reinstatement of banned/suspended Twitter accounts

Reinstating Former U.S. President Trump’s Twitter Account

Afterward, we then asked respondents for their stance on Elon Musk reinstating Trump’s Twitter account. 39.2% were neutral on the matter, 30.86% supported the reinstatement, and 29.94% opposed the reinstatement.

We also inquired whether respondents agreed with Elon Musk reinstating Trump’s Twitter account based on a Twitter poll. 38.66% highly agreed with the method, 28.9% were neutral on the matter, 25.81% somewhat agreed with it, while 4.66% and 1.97% somewhat disagreed and highly disagreed with it, respectively.

We surveyed respondents to determine whether Trump’s narrow victory in Musk’s Twitter reinstatement poll justified lifting his ban. Among the respondents, 52.58% believed the narrow victory highly justified lifting Trump’s ban, 23.68% were neutral on the matter, 17.87% believed it was somewhat justified, while 4.03% and 1.85% believed it was somewhat unjustified and highly unjustified, respectively.

Prior to the creation of Musk’s promised content moderation council, Twitter engaged in contradictory actions by restoring banned accounts. We questioned respondents about what they thought about this. 61.19% of respondents believe that Musk just decides the reinstatements all on his own, 29.17% believed that account reinstatements, regardless, showcased the fair treatment for users’ “free speech,” and 8.51% believed that account reinstatements qualified Musk’s plan of a content moderation council with “widely diverse viewpoints.”

Twitter Account Suspensions and Bans

We asked whether Trump’s initial Twitter suspension effectively prevented the “further incitement of violence” brought about by the January 6 insurrection. 38.84% thought the suspension was highly effective, 30.59% were neutral on the matter, 24.47% thought it was somewhat effective, while 4.51% and 1.6% thought it was somewhat ineffective and highly ineffective, respectively. 

Then, we asked respondents whether they thought Trump’s Twitter ban was justified. 37.05% thought the ban was highly justified, 32.24% were neutral on the matter, 23.56% thought it was somewhat justified, while 5.11% and 2.04% thought it was somewhat unjustified and highly unjustified, respectively.

Twitter’s Reinstatement of Banned Accounts

We also inquired about which of Musk’s reinstated accounts respondents were aware of. 11.43% were aware of Andrew Tate’s reinstatement, 11.42% of Jordan Peterson’s, 10.91% of Babylon Bee’s, 10.66% of Kathy Griffin, and 10.29% of Project Veritas’.

Finally, we asked if banned/suspended Twitter accounts should ever be reinstated. 12.77% were for reinstatement as there could be falsely suspended accounts, 12.1% were for reinstatement as a matter of free speech, 11.84% were against reinstatement as accounts were banned/suspended for violations, and 10.73% were against reinstatements as social media should be a safe place.