Ted Koppel: After 1,009 Days, Joe Deal's Hostage Twitter Account Has Been Freed

On July 22, 2019, conservative blogger Joe Deal's Twitter account was suspended and locked. Like many other conservatives, he ran afoul of Twitter's strange, capricious standards of conduct. 

In the weeks that followed, I documented his plight in a series of reports, 'RedSquirrel's Twitter Hostage Account Crisis'. We were sure that his account would never again see the light of day, and Mr. Deal was sure that the suspension was, in fact, a lifetime ban. Since nobody believed that he would ever be reinstated, we discontinued our series.

Then, an incredible thing happened last week. Billionaire Elon Musk BOUGHT Twitter, and hundreds of conservative hostage accounts have returned. After 1,009 days, Joe Deal's Twitter account was reinstated.

In July 2019, Joe Deal followed over 7.000 accounts, and he had about 7,000 followers. Now, He has to start over with zero followers. On Tuesday, he learned that he is following just over 5,000 accounts (many he doesn't remember ever following), which he has whittled down to a manageable 160. 

At one time, Joe Deal was followed by Twitter mavens Kurt Schlichter and Michlle Malkin, as well as comedian Dana Carvey. Now, he doesn't even know if anyone SEES his posts. 

Joe Deal likens it to waking up from a coma. He says it feels like being Rip Van Winkle. Still, it feels like he woke up at a good time.

A lot has changed in 33 months. Covid, a Democrat crime wave, and a stolen presidential election later, Twitter also looks different. Now, the billionaire wants to return free speech to the social media bohemouth. After 1,009 days, Joe Deal is happy to be back. Good luck to him.

I am Ted Koppel. Goodnight.