Twitter blocked the accounts of a number of prominent journalists from leading news organizations without explanation on Thursday evening, allegedly in an attempt by new owner Elon Musk to assert his unilateral power over the network.
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Donie O’Sullivan of CNN, Ryan Mac of The New York Times, Drew Harwell of The Washington Post, and other journalists who have covered Musk extensively in recent weeks had their accounts unexpectedly and permanently cancelled. The account of independent journalist and progressive Aaron Rupar was likewise blocked.
Privacy issues?
On Thursday evening, neither Musk nor Twitter responded to a request for comment, and the platform did not specify why the journalists were expelled. Musk incorrectly said that the journalists had broken his new “doxxing” policy by publishing his live location, which he termed “assassination coordinates.” Yet, Donie O’Sullivan of CNN did not reveal the billionaire’s current whereabouts.
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All of the prohibited reporters appear to have lately tweeted about Musk’s efforts to restrict the disclosure of his private jet’s whereabouts. However, it appears that accounts that cannot post can still participate in Twitter Spaces live audio chats. Musk eventually attempted to explain himself in a Space comprising Harwell, Binder, and the ElonJet account. Musk said:
“You dox, you get suspended. The end of the story, that’s it.”
Musk accused the journalists in the exchange of “ban evasion.” After Twitter suspended the ElonJet account, its owner created profiles on Facebook and Mastodon. He said that by publishing links to these accounts, the journalists were attempting to evade his ban.
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Musk indicated in one response that the bans would only last seven days. Later, he launched a poll allowing his Twitter followers to determine the fate of the blacklisted journalists, who had earlier been informed that their accounts had been “permanently” suspended.
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