“Donald Trump is back on Twitter,” thanks to Elon Musk.
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No, Elon Musk has not given Donald Trump his Twitter account back
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Former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account remained suspended as of Oct. 10, 2022.
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Elon Musk has indicated he plans to follow through with buying Twitter, but the deal has not yet been finalized.
Billionaire Elon Musk has changed his mind once again on a potential Twitter deal, indicating Oct. 4 that he intended to buy the social media platform for his original offer price of about $44 billion.
While the deal has not yet been finalized, some on social media claimed Musk has already made big changes.
"Donald Trump is back on Twitter and he made sure to thank Elon Musk," claimed two Facebook posts shared Oct. 9. The posts included a screenshot of a supposed tweet from the former president that said, "Thank you Elon Musk, I’m Back!!"
These posts were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
After the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Twitter permanently banned Trump from the platform for violating its policies against inciting violence. Before the ban, Trump had also repeatedly used his Twitter account to widely spread misinformation about the 2020 election.
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Musk has criticized Twitter’s decision to ban anyone other than spam accounts and "those that explicitly advocate violence" from the platform. In May, he pledged to reverse the ban on Trump’s account, saying it was "a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme."
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However, Musk has not taken over ownership of the social media platform yet. And as of Oct. 10, Trump’s Twitter account @realDonaldTrump was still suspended.
No record of the tweet used to claim Trump is back on Twitter could be found on the platform. The account that apparently sent the tweet is @realDonJTru, which is not an official account for the former president.
We rate this claim False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Oct. 9, 2022
Facebook post, Oct. 9, 2022
Twitter, @realDonaldTrump, accessed Oct. 10, 2022
Twitter, @realDonJTru, accessed Oct. 10, 2022
Twitter advanced search for tweet in claim, Oct. 10, 2022
Twitter, "Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump," Jan. 8, 2021
The New York Times, "Elon Musk Suggests Buying Twitter at His Original Price," Oct. 4, 2022
NPR, "Here’s what Elon Musk will likely do with Twitter if he buys it," Oct. 7, 2022
NPR, "Elon Musk says he'll reverse Donald Trump Twitter ban," May 10, 2022
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No, Elon Musk has not given Donald Trump his Twitter account back
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