Sean Plunket returns to Twitter, thanks Piers Morgan and Posie Parker

Thursday, 6 April 2023

Sean Plunket’s Twitter account has been reinstated. (File photo)

Broadcaster Sean Plunket has returned to Twitter, after he was suspended from the platform earlier this week.

He attributed his return to intervention from Twitter owner Elon Musk, although there is nothing to suggest that Musk was involved.

On Thursday Plunket tweeted, thanking high profile UK broadcaster Piers Morgan, Jordan Peterson, as well as anti-trans activist Posie Parker, for “helping me get off the naughty step”.

Screenshots that circulated online showed the suspension was apparently due to his breaking privacy rules as well as the 'hateful conduct rule'.

* Why Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was asked 'what is a woman?'

* Broadcaster Sean Plunket suspended from Twitter

A post on The Platform Twitter account on Monday afternoon said Plunket had been “permanently suspended”, with Plunket describing the move as “Another victory for free speech” on his own Facebook page.

Commenting after his reinstatement, Plunket said he believed he was kicked off due to a campaign by people who he said had been trolling him.

That was disputed by human rights advocate Guled Mire, who was one of those to receive notification of the suspension.

He had reported a tweet by Plunket that he said encouraged people to read the Christchurch mosque gunman’s so-called manifesto.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was asked how he defined a woman during the post-Cabinet press conference on Monday, April 3, 2023.

The document is banned for promoting, encouraging and justifying acts of murder and terrorist violence against identified groups of people.

Mire previously said: “I reported it as hateful content. It was inexcusable to encourage his followers to do that.”

Speaking on Thursday morning, Plunket was as surprised as anyone to see he was back on the social media platform.

“I feel slightly warm inside. I imagine that (Twitter owner) Elon Musk, who got thousands of messages, took a look at it.”

He said he was the victim of a sustained campaign by trans rights activists and said there was a bigger issue around freedom of speech.

On Monday, at his regular afternoon press conference, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was asked by Plunket to “define a woman”.

Hipkins took a moment to respond to Plunket's questions, which he said came “slightly out of left field for me”.

“But in terms of gender identity, I think people define their gender identity for themselves.'

This was subsequently deried on Twitter by Piers Morgan.