Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, has sparked controversy once again by restoring the X account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Jones, the host of the far-right InfoWars website and podcasting platform, has repeatedly spread the false claim that the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax. This move has raised concerns among advertisers, who have previously abandoned X due to worries about hate speech appearing alongside their ads.

Musk initiated a poll on Saturday to determine if Jones should be reinstated on the social media platform. The results of the poll showed that 70% of respondents were in favor of restoring Jones' account. Early on Sunday, Musk tweeted, "The people have spoken and so it shall be." A few hours later, Jones' posts were visible again, with the last one dating back to 2018 when he was permanently banned for abusive behavior.

Musk, who has described himself as a free speech absolutist, defended his decision to reinstate Jones, stating that it was about protecting the rights of individuals to express their opinions. When a user pointed out that permanent account bans contradict the principles of free speech, Musk responded, "I find it hard to disagree with this point."

Jones' reinstatement has reignited the controversy surrounding his conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shooting. He has repeatedly claimed on his show that the tragic event, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six educators, never happened and was staged to tighten gun laws. As a result, many relatives of the victims sued Jones, winning nearly $1.5 billion in judgments against him. Jones is currently appealing these judgments, arguing that his speech is protected by the First Amendment.

Musk's decision to restore Jones' account comes at a time when X has been facing backlash from advertisers. Several major brands, including Disney and IBM, ceased advertising on the platform after a report by liberal advocacy group Media Matters revealed that ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi content and white nationalist posts. Musk himself attracted criticism after endorsing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory in response to a post on X. Although he later apologized and visited Israel to meet with top Israeli leaders, he accused advertisers of engaging in “blackmail” and urged them not to advertise on the platform.

In a separate development, Jones recently appeared as a guest on Tucker Carlson's new show, which is streamed on X. In a videotaped message streamed on the platform, Jones called on Musk to watch his interview with Carlson. Jones expressed hope that Musk would understand why he was banned from Twitter and consider lifting the ban on his X account.

Musk responded to Jones' message, pledging to "hear him out." In a post on X, Musk stated that permanent bans on the platform should be rare since it aspires to be a global town square. He also suggested that anything Jones said could be corrected through the platform's crowd-sourced fact-checking feature, Community Notes. Musk then proposed taking a poll among X users to gauge their opinions on whether Jones should be allowed back onto the platform. The poll received overwhelming support for Jones' reinstatement, with 90% of respondents in favor.

However, this decision contradicts Musk's previous stance on Jones. Last year, Musk declined to reinstate Jones' account on X after acquiring the social media platform for $44 billion. He cited the death of his firstborn child and expressed no mercy for those who exploit the deaths of children for personal gain or fame.

The Post has reached out to Jones for comment on his account restoration, but no response has been received at this time. The reinstatement of Jones' account further fuels the ongoing debate about free speech, hate speech, and the responsibilities of social media platforms to address these issues.