Twitter successor: X unblocks extremist Identitarian Movement account

The US platform X has reactivated the accounts of the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement . They had previously been blocked in July 2020 due to several violations of Twitter’s rules on terrorism or violent extremism at the time.

Almost two weeks ago, the account of the Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner , who was also affected by the blocking campaign in summer 2020, was reactivated. Sellner is considered one of the leaders of the right-wing extremist Identitarian movement. This week he was banned from entering Germany.

Until it was blocked almost four years ago, the Identitarian Movement Germany account was followed by around 30,000 Twitter users, and Sellner was followed by almost 40,000. There are currently around 54,000 X users following the right-wing extremist, and around 5,000 fewer followers on the Identitarian Movement account than in the summer of 2020.

Right-wing extremist conspiracy myths

The Identitarian Movement spreads right-wing extremist conspiracy myths and propagates an image of society that is directed against multicultural societies. In Germany, the group is monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Sellner recently spread his plans for a mass deportation of immigrants.

In an interview with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, X owner Elon Musk defended his company’s decision not to delete several anti-Semitic and racist posts because they were not illegal. Musk refuses to moderate the content. “Moderation is a propaganda word for censorship,” he said in the interview.

“Ask whether Elon Musk is suitable as a selfie partner”

“Politicians should ask themselves again in the future whether Elon Musk is suitable as a selfie partner,” said Green Party politician Misbah Khan. The Bundestag member added that more constitutional enforcement is urgently needed against social networks that “approach right-wing extremist actors in a benevolent manner” in order to make money from their misanthropy.

In the past few months, the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) and Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD), among others, have had their photos taken. However, Wissing later expressed criticism of the platform and said: “Twitter should be aware of its special responsibility in dealing with disinformation.”

With the new moderation rules put into effect by Musk, X could be violating the European Digital Services Act (DSA). With the DSA, the EU wants to enable a better fight against misinformation and hate speech.

The US platform X has reactivated the accounts of the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement . They had previously been blocked in July 2020 due to several violations of Twitter’s rules on terrorism or violent extremism at the time.

Almost two weeks ago, the account of the Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner , who was also affected by the blocking campaign in summer 2020, was reactivated. Sellner is considered one of the leaders of the right-wing extremist Identitarian movement. This week he was banned from entering Germany.

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