Categories: USA

Elon Musk suspends journalists from Twitter

Several prominent journalists that cover Twitter and its new CEO Elon Musk were suspended from the social media platform on Thursday night.

Ryan Mac from The New York Times, Drew Harwell from The Washington Post, Donie O’Sullivan from CNN, Micah Lee from The Intercept, Matt Binder from Mashable, independent journalists Aaron Rupar and Tony Webster and political commentator Keith Olbermann all appear to have had their accounts suspended.

The series of suspensions came on the heels of Twitter’s decision to suspend Mastodon’s official account. The social media platform has arisen as a potential alternative Twitter in the wake of Musk’s chaotic takeover of the company.

Several of the suspended journalists had recently covered Musk’s dispute with Jack Sweeney, who ran a Twitter account that tracked the movements of the billionaire’s jet. That account was suspended on Tuesday, despite Musk’s vows not to ban it just weeks before. Sweeney’s personal account was also suspended.

In response to several tweets about the suspensions, Musk suggested that the journalists were removed for violating the platform’s rules against doxxing.

“Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else,” he said, adding in a separate tweet, “Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not.”

The Times’s spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement that the suspension of Mac and the other journalists was “questionable and unfortunate.”

“Neither The Times nor Ryan have received any explanation about why this occurred,” Stadtlander said. “We hope that all of the journalists’ accounts are reinstated and that Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action.”

CNN said in a statement that the “impulsive and unjustified suspension” was “concerning but not surprising.”

“Twitter’s increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses the platform,” the outlet said. “We have asked Twitter for an explanation, and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response.”

Sally Buzbee, the Post’s executive editor, said the decision to suspend the paper’s technology reporter “directly undermines Elon Musk’s claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech.”

“Harwell was banished from Twitter without warning, process or explanation, following the publication of his accurate reporting about Musk,” Buzbee said in a statement. “Our journalist should be reinstated immediately.”

Musk, who acquired Twitter in late October for $44 billion, has previously described himself as a “free-speech absolutist” and pledged to return “free speech” to the platform by reining in the previous leadership’s content moderation policies. The billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla made a point to reinstate several previously banned accounts, including that of former President Trump, in his first few weeks atop the company.

The Hill has reached out to Twitter for comment.

Source: thehill.com

Jackson Sorbo

Managing editor of the Chicago Morning Star

Recent Posts

Twins Aim for Sweep Against Cubs in Series Finale

The Minnesota Twins will attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon, wrapping up the…

17 hours ago

AI Deepfake Voicemails Target High-Level Officials

In June, an advanced impersonation campaign used artificial intelligence to target senior U.S. and international leaders by posing as Secretary…

18 hours ago

Nvidia Becomes World’s Most Valuable Public Company

Nvidia Corp. has officially become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world, reaching a historic $4 trillion market…

20 hours ago

How to Stay Safe From Bug Bites This Summer

Warm Weather Brings More Bug Bites—Here’s What You Need to KnowAs Chicagoans embrace the outdoors during summer, the increase in…

23 hours ago

Blue Jays Win 10th Straight in Rain-Shortened Game

The Toronto Blue Jays extended their winning streak to 10 games Tuesday night with a 6–1 rain-shortened win over the…

2 days ago

AT&T to Pay $177M Over Massive Customer Data Breaches

AT&T has agreed to pay $177 million to settle two class-action lawsuits stemming from major data breaches that exposed the…

2 days ago