X reinstates ‘White Dudes for Harris’ account after backlash for suspension following $4m fundraiser
Elon Musk’s social media platform X reinstated the “White Dudes for Harris” account after sparking outrage by briefly suspending it.
“White Dudes for Harris” was reinstated on Tuesday and is back to posting to its nearly 100,000 followers. The group, composed of white men who support the vice president, is not affiliated with Kamala Harris’ campaign.
The account celebrated its return to X in a post on Tuesday afternoon: “WE ARE SO BACK! After a groundswell of grassroots complaints to @ElonMusk from the #WhiteDudesforHarris community, our account was reinstated & we’re allowed to post again. Thank you for coming to our aid & carrying on this conversation in our absence.”
“Thanks to everyone for your likes, comments, shares, DMs, and everything else you did to put the pressure on @ElonMusk and Twitter,” Mike Nellis, one of the organizers, wrote on his personal account.
The suspension happened on Monday evening after nearly 200,000 Democrats, including celebrities and potential running mates, rallied together on a Zoom call to express their support for Harris’ White House run. That meeting resulted in $4 million in donations.
Some of the group organizers and others on X blamed Musk, who has publicly endorsed Donald Trump, personally for the suspension.
On their personal accounts, organizers Nellis and Ross Morales Rocketto both accused Elon Musk of getting “scared” of the group’s success. Nellis joked: “I ask this question seriously... are we the first white dudes to ever get suspended by @elonmusk‘s Twitter? I think we are.”
The suspension sparked online backlash to fuel a spike in donations.
“This is only gonna increase donations,” one user predicted.
WE ARE SO BACK!
After a groundswell of grassroots complaints to @ElonMusk from the #WhiteDudesforHarris community, our account was reinstated & we're allowed to post again.
Thank you for coming to our aid & carrying on this conversation in our absence.
More to come! ?? pic.twitter.com/HMZgv9XTSE— White Dudes for Harris (@dudes4harris) July 30, 2024
Historian Timothy Synder said he was doubling his donation because of the platform’s decision: “Musk suspended the Twitter account of White Dudes for Harris. I don’t think South African billionaires should hinder Americans organizing for democracy. So I am doubling my donation.”
Other X users took jabs at Musk, the self-described “free speech absolutist”.
One user wrote: “Free speech for me, but not for thee.”
Another remarked: ??”So he is a free speech absolutist unless the free speech gets in the way of Trump’s reelection chances.”
The Independent has reached out to X for comment.
