Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Twitter Suspends Journalists Who Wrote about Owner Elon Musk


Fri 16 Dec 2022 | 10:56 AM
Elon Musk
Elon Musk
By Ahmad El-Assasy

A number of journalists, including those who work for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Voice of America, and other organisations, had their Twitter accounts blocked on Thursday for their coverage of the social media network and its new owner Elon Musk.

The corporation has not given the journalists an explanation for why it deleted the accounts, their profiles, and their tweets from the past. Musk, though, accused journalists of disclosing personal information about his movements on Twitter on Thursday night, calling it "essentially assassination coordinates." He didn't back up that assertion with any proof.

Following Musk's decision on Wednesday to permanently ban an account that automatically tracked the travels of his private jet using data that was available to the public, news reporters were abruptly suspended. That also led Twitter to change its rules for all users to prohibit the sharing of another person's current location without their consent.

A number of the journalists who were fired on Thursday night had been writing about the new rule and Musk's justification for it, which featured his claims that his family had been the victims of a stalking episode on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

"Same doxxing rules apply to 'journalists' as to everyone else," Musk tweeted Thursday. He later added: "Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not."

"Doxxing" refers to disclosing online someone's identity, address, or other personal details.

Sally Buzbee, the executive editor of The Washington Post, demanded that technology reporter Drew Harwell's Twitter account be promptly reinstated. Elon Musk's assertion that he aims to manage Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech is "clearly undermined" by the suspension, Buzbee said. Following the publication of his correct reporting about Musk, Harwell was exiled without prior notice, due process, or justification.

The sudden and unjustifiable suspension of several reporters, including CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, is alarming but not unexpected, according to a statement from CNN.

"Twitter's increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses Twitter," CNN's statement added. "We have asked Twitter for an explanation, and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response."

A second journalist who has been suspended, Matt Binder of the technology news site Mashable, claimed he was promptly barred on Thursday night after sharing a screenshot that O'Sullivan had published before the CNN reporter's suspension.

The screenshot displayed a statement that the Los Angeles Police Department gave to several media outlets, including The Associated Press, earlier on Thursday. It stated that although it had spoken to Musk's agents about the claimed stalking incident, no crime report had yet been filed.

"I did not share any location data, as per Twitter's new terms. Nor did I share any links to ElonJet or other location tracking accounts," Binder said in an email. "I have been highly critical of Musk but never broke any of Twitter's listed policies."

When trying to access his Twitter account, Binder claimed to have received a notification informing him that his suspension was indefinite. Later, though, in answer to a query regarding the suspension of former ESPN and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, Musk said the punishment would last a week.