Jordan Peterson Returns To Twitter, Immediately Demands The Site Censor Anonymous Trolls

Canadian self-help author Jordan Peterson returned to Twitter on Friday under Elon Musk’s reign (along with comedian Kathy Griffin and conservative satire site The Babylon Bee).

Griffin had been permanently suspended from Twitter after changing her account name and profile picture to imitate Musk’s profile. Peterson and The Babylon Bee had been suspended before Musk’s takeover, for violating Twitter’s hateful conduct policies, after posting tweets that targeted trans people. At the time, both could have chosen to reinstate their accounts, if they had deleted the offensive tweets.

Peterson ended up walking away from Twitter after his tweet targeted the actor Elliot Page; Peterson referred to Page, who is transgender, by his deadname, writing: “Remember when pride was a sin? And Ellen Page just had her breasts removed by a criminal physician.” The offending tweet resulted in Peterson’s suspension.

Peterson ended up posting a lengthy video response on YouTube and Instagram, in which he ranted about being suspended from Twitter, claimed to be hopelessly confused by Page’s name (his name is Elliot), stated he would “rather die” than delete the tweet, and delivered the now-infamous line: “Up yours, woke moralists. We’ll see who cancels who!”

The one-liner quickly became a popular meme on the site, and Peterson, who has always embraced meme culture, posted the clip hours after returning to the site.

Peterson also made an unusual demand, directly to Elon Musk, that Twitter ban anonymous accounts from posting alongside verified accounts – perhaps Peterson is tired of being trolled. Peterson has consistently been a fierce advocate for free speech, describing it as the “foundation of Western civilization.”

In an ironic twist, Peterson’s tweet essentially advocated for a form of censorship against individuals who, for whatever reason, do not want to post under their real names.

Peterson went on to double down on his demand, despite the clear hypocrisy.

Anonymity has always been integral to internet culture, as well as the notion of free speech; the American Civil Liberties Union describes online anonymity as a “fundamental component” of the right to freedom of speech.

Indeed, Peterson’s suggestion was so foolish that even former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey swooped in to correct the record.

Meanwhile, Twitter users remained confused by Musk’s new “freedom of speech” approach, as his tweet announcing the new policy only invited further questions, and Musk has yet to clarify.

It remains to be seen how the site will implement freedom of speech, but hopefully, Musk will at least preserve the right to anonymity.