Journalist Alex Berenson is reinstated on Twitter after suing for “violating the First Amendment.”

Alex Berenson has filed a federal lawsuit against Twitter challenging its ban

Independent journalist Alex Berenson has been reinstated for Twitter after an 11-month ban during which he was “permanently banned”.

Last December, he filed a federal lawsuit against the social media platform, alleging his first amendment rights had been violated.

In the lawsuit, filed in Northern California District Court, Berenson sought to get back on Twitter and sought unspecified damages over his ban, which began last August.

“The parties have come to a mutually acceptable solution. I got reinstated. Twitter has confirmed that my tweets should not have resulted in my suspension at this time,” Berenson wrote on his Substack page earlier this week.

“Twitter suspended me after receiving five strikes under their Covid-19 misinformation policy. Which meant I had allegedly made “statements of fact” that were “proven to be false or misleading” and “likely to adversely affect public safety or cause serious harm.” Now we realize that those tweets “should not have resulted in my suspension”? he wrote.

“Certainly the past! The little bird and I are best friends now,” he jokes.

Berenson was reinstated to Twitter earlier this week, despite continuing to write on blogging platform Substack

“I can’t wait for Insider and NBC News and everyone else who drooled over my suspension in August 2021 and later the fact that I’m back and Twitter’s admission that it shouldn’t have banned me, devote the same space. Actually a lot more, because that has NEVER happened before.

Berenson, 49, a former New York Times reporter and prominent skeptic of many pandemic policies, was banned for a tweet declaring that COVID vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission of the virus.

Berenson had previously called the pandemic an excuse for the government to push its limits on rules and powers.

He notes on his blog that he can’t explain what happened behind the scenes so he can be reinstated because he’s bound by secrecy.

“I can’t tell you that because the statement is all I can say about the comparison.”

Berenson said he will continue to try to find out what prompted his lockdown in the first place, noting that he believes government pressure may have played a part.

“The settlement does not end my investigation into pressure the government may have put on Twitter to ban my account. I shall have more to say on this subject shortly. I made a promise to readers last month, and I take my promises to readers seriously,” he added.

Returning to Twitter, the journalist posted the exact same tweet as the one that banned him, knowing it would be allowed this time.

Returning to Twitter, the journalist posted the exact same tweet as the one that banned him, knowing it would be allowed this time.

Berenson has returned to Twitter and has posted multiple tweets since being reinstated

The lawsuit, filed in December in the US District Court for Northern California, sought Berenson’s reinstatement of Twitter and unspecified damages for his permanent ban

Berenson was banned from Twitter for this tweet about Covid vaccines

‘Mister. Berenson’s claim that the COVID-19 vaccines do not “stop” the “infection” or “transmission” of COVID-19 was true then and is true now,” his attorneys said in his 2021 lawsuit.

Since it was banned, Berenson has written the bestseller Pandemia

“It is undisputed that vaccinated individuals can contract and spread COVID-19,” the lawsuit adds, noting that Dr. Anthony Fauci himself has stated in published interviews that vaccinated people can become infected.

The crux of the lawsuit, however, did not rest on whether or not Berenson’s criticism of vaccines was objectively true.

The detailed 70-page complaint alleged that Twitter is legally a “common carrier,” similar to a railroad or telegram, that is required by California and state law to provide services to all comers.

“Twitter’s role in public debate in the 21st century is similar to that of the telegraph in the 19th century,” the lawsuit argued.

Berenson’s attorneys also argued that he had “a uniquely viable allegation that Twitter acted on behalf of the federal government by censoring him and banning him from using its platform.”

The complaint argued that its Twitter ban came just days after senior officials, including President Joe Biden, called for a crackdown on pandemic misinformation on social media, and that the company responded to government pressure by it forbade him.

Pictured: a screenshot of Berenson’s suspended Twitter account. The social media platform permanently banned the former New York Times journalist for his August 2021 tweets

The lawsuit alleges violation of the First Amendment, false advertising and a violation of California’s shared carrier statute, among other things.

After his Twitter ban, Berenson was able to continue posting his opinions and reporting on the Substack platform. He also published a book called Pandemia which made it to the bestseller list.

In the tweet that earned him his ban, Berenson wrote, “It doesn’t stop the infection. Or transmission. Don’t think of it as a vaccine.’

“At best, think of it as a therapeutic with a limited window of action and a horrific side effect profile that needs to be dosed BEFORE DISEASE,” he added.

Berenson began his campaign against masks and vaccines in 2020 when an op-ed he penned for the Wall Street Journal claimed the pandemic had ushered in “a new age of censorship and repression.”

Berenson began covering the pharmaceutical industry and financial crime for The New York Times in 1999 before leaving the paper in 2010

“Information has never been so plentiful and easier to share. Yet we are slipping into a new age of censorship and repression, sponsored by tech giants and traditional media companies,” Berenson wrote.

“As someone who has been mislabeled as a coronavirus denier,” he wrote at the time. “I’ve seen this crisis firsthand.”

The controversial journalist and writer also revealed an ongoing dispute with Amazon, which Berenson claims was trying to quash his self-published books on COVID-19 and the ensuing response.

“Since June, Amazon has twice tried to suppress self-published pamphlets I wrote about Covid-19 and the response to it,” he continued.

“These pamphlets contain no conspiracy theories. Like the scientists who wrote the Great Barrington Declaration, I simply believe that many actions taken to combat the coronavirus have been harmful, counterproductive and unsupported by science.”

Berenson began covering the pharmaceutical industry and financial crime for The New York Times in 1999 before leaving the paper in 2010 to pursue a career as a full-time writer and novelist.

The Yale-educated writer has been dubbed the “wrong man of the pandemic” by The Atlantic for his predictions about the virus.

He originally predicted that the US would not surpass 500,000 deaths from COVID-19. The country has now passed more than a million deaths.

Berenson previously had a large following on social media, with more than 340,000 followers prior to his ban. Since then, he has gained another 50,000 followers.

Announcing his lawsuit against Substack last December, he wrote, “Remember folks – don’t take the law into your own hands, you’re taking them to court!”