After Senator Was Suspended, Musk Says Policy Will Change

Steve Daines' Twitter account was locked because of allegedly 'gruesome' hunting photo
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2023 1:56 PM CST
Musk Promises to Fix Policy That Got Senator Suspended
Sen. Steve Daines speaks to reporters following a Republican policy luncheon meeting last month.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Elon Musk said a Twitter policy was being changed Tuesday after a Republican senator was suspended from the platform. The office of Montana Sen. Steve Daines said his account was locked Monday night because of a profile that showed Daines and his wife, Cindy, posing with a pronghorn antelope Cindy Daines had shot, the Great Falls Tribune reports. Daines's office said the senator was told the photo violated rules on graphic violence. "Our team has reached out to Twitter to get this resolved because the Senator believes it is preposterous that a picture of him and his wife hunting—an activity that is ingrained in the Montana way of life—would be against Twitter rules," the office said.

The suspension was condemned by fellow Republicans including Rep. Ryan Zinke, one of two House members from Montana, who tweeted the photo and said "Stop censoring our Montana way of life," the Hill reports. "This is being fixed. Policy against showing blood in profile pic is being amended to "clearly showing blood without clicking on the profile pic," Musk tweeted in response to a GOP official who called the suspension "insane." Musk said the policy's "intent is to avoid people being forced to see gruesome profile pics." At around 1:40pm Tuesday, Daines tweeted: "I'm free! Thanks @elonmusk." (More Twitter stories.)

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