On Thursday night, several prominent journalists covering Twitter and its new CEO, Elon Musk, were suspended from the social media platform.
Ryan Mac of The New York Times, Drew Harwell of The Washington Post, Donie O’Sullivan of CNN, Micah Lee of The Intercept, Matt Binder of 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 shortly after Twitter decided to suspend Mastadon’s official account.
STRONG REACTION
There was a strong reaction on Twitter from American journalists following the banning of the reporters.
“This is outrageous,” reacted Fourth Watch media critic Steve Krakauer.
“Hot take – Being the worst Twitter account is not just grounds for suspension, and Musk has promised transparency about these things, so I’d like to know why,” tweeted Versus Media podcast host Stephen L. Miller.
“[I]f you start banning accounts whether you want to or not, regardless of how much they suck without transparency, then you have become the very thing you swore against. We need answers, @elonmusk,” said Habibi Bros podcast co-host Siraj Hashmi.
“In my opinion, Aaron Rupar is one of the biggest lying, characterless sources of misinformation on the internet. But I have not seen a compelling case for his suspension from Twitter,” wrote Fox News host Will Cain.
“Musk is a blatant hypocrite regarding free speech,” wrote New York Times correspondent Trip Gabriel.
“Simple: if Twitter is suspending people because they are denouncing or criticizing Musk, then the current version is no better than the old version with arbitrary and questionable enforcement.”
“If it’s suspending people for violating a clear rule, it’s about them. Why it matters,” tweeted conservative writer AG Hamilton.
Musk defended Twitter’s actions, claiming that “The same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ and everyone else.”
Doxxing is publishing personal information without permission, such as an address, phone number, location, etc.
In another tweet, Musk said, “Criticizing me all day is fine, but doxxing my location in real-time and putting my family in danger is not.”
Last Wednesday (Dec. 14), Musk tweeted that the car carrying his two-year-old son, named “Lil X,” was followed by an unknown person, and then the individual blocked his passage and climbed on the hood of the car.
He also posted a clip of the alleged pursuer, showing the car’s license plate and asking, “Does anyone recognize this person or car?”
Before the attack, Musk had already said that legal action was being taken against programmer Jack Sweeney, the person who started the billionaire’s flight-tracking account in 2020.
The speech came shortly after Musk released a new rule for Twitter:
“Any account doxxing anyone’s real-time location information will be suspended as it is a physical security breach. Doxxing is posting personal information without authorization, such as an address, phone number, location, etc. This includes posting links to websites with the real-time location.”