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Sen. Steve Daines is back on Twitter after being locked out over a photo showing him and his wife after a successful antelope hunt.
The Montana Republican gave a shout-out Tuesday to Twitter CEO Elon Musk after the company reversed course over the hunting shot previously flagged for violating platform rules by depicting “graphic violence.”
“I am grateful Elon Musk reached out to me to resolve this issue and am glad that he recognizes that free speech is a bedrock of our country, and acted quickly to reinstate my Twitter account after being made aware of its suspension,” Mr. Daines said in a statement.
Mr. Daines was told Monday that “graphic violence” meant “any form of gory media related to death, serious injury, violence, or surgical procedures,” but Mr. Musk said Tuesday the policy against showing blood in a profile picture was being changed.
“This is being fixed. Policy against showing blood in profile pic is being amended to ‘clearly showing blood without clicking on the profile pic,’” Mr. Musk tweeted. “The intent is to avoid people being forced to see gruesome profile pics.”
He added: “Going forward, Twitter will be broadly accepting of different values, rather than trying to impose its own specific values on the world.”
The one-day suspension over a hunting photo became a rallying cry for Republicans.
Those rushing to Mr. Daines’ defense included Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who tweeted #FreeSteveDaines.
“If you don’t like hunting, fine, don’t go. But don’t censor others who disagree,” Mr. Cruz said. “And I’m pretty sure this is a formal job responsibility for a senator from Montana!”
Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke tweeted “For those in San Francisco and elsewhere … HUNTING IS CONSERVATION” and congratulated Mr. Daines’ wife Cindy.
“This is the family photo that got @SteveDaines put in twitter jail. Stop censoring our Montana way of life! Great shot, Cindy!” tweeted Mr. Zinke, who lives in Whitefish, Montana.
Ridiculous. My friend @SteveDaines is in @Twitter jail for posting this pic w/ his wife Cindy.
If you don’t like hunting, fine, don’t go. But don’t censor others who disagree.
And I’m pretty sure this is a formal job responsibility for a senator from Montana!#FreeSteveDaines pic.twitter.com/t6VdYNYe5u
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 7, 2023
Mr. Daines said that his photo is “no different than photos Montanans share on social media every day.”
“It’s our Montana way of life and we are proud of it. I am glad Elon Musk recognizes this,” Mr. Daines said. “The rest of the country benefits from the acceptance of diverse thoughts and values, including Montana values.”
The conservative website Twitchy described the photo as typical of hunting shots posted regularly on social media.
“Daines didn’t pose with a severed head and blood spattered all over his face,” noted Twitchy. “He and his wife cleanly took down an animal in hunting country. If anything, his profile picture promotes responsible hunting.”
Critics added that the episode shows that Mr. Musk still has some work to do after taking over the platform in October and pledging to transform it into a forum for free speech.
“This seems like it would be a golden opportunity for Elon Musk to step in and fix the system some more, because clearly it’s still broken,” Twitchy said.
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