Funviralpark Twitter has personally demanded that the suspended journalist delete the tweet that initially provoked Mr. Musk’s ire.
The result is a stalemate. The suspended journalist remains in her Twitter purgatory with no access to her account.
The tweet in question referred to or linked to a Twitter account named @ElonJet that used public flight data to track the whereabouts of Musk’s private jet. All journalists had reported or commented on Musk’s decision to ban the account. He said he was threatening his family’s safety by tracking his movements.
However, none of the journalist’s tweets about @ElonJet disclosed information about Musk or his jet’s location, despite Musk’s claim that the journalist posted them. “Assassination Coordination”
Reporters say their tweets were part of a press campaign and did not violate rules about “doxxing,” the offensive act of posting personal information without permission. That would be a false admission of wrongdoing and a waiver of Musk’s subjective enforcement, they say. they remain suspended.
“The rules are arbitrary and capricious,” said Steve Herman, chief national correspondent for the Voice of America, who rejected Twitter’s call to remove three tweets that referred to the jet account. “They seem to be based on the whim of the platform owner.”
Similarly, Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, The New York Times’ Ryan Mack, CNN’s Donnie O’Sullivan, Fox Business’ Susan Lee, and The Intercept’s Micah Lee, among others, have deleted their tweets at Twitter’s insistence. Their accounts have not been suspended and appear to be active, but in fact they have been locked since Twitter took action against them eight days ago. out.
For example, Harwell said he has no intention of removing flagged tweets. This is in reference to Musk suspending his Twitter rival his Mastodon over linking the company’s version of @ElonJet. “No, no. I’m not going to delete tweets that contain factual information and don’t break anyone’s rules,” he said.
He added: He can ban anyone he likes. And you can point out how he makes up pretext rules, targeting journalism he doesn’t like, which happens to be. ”
Twitter did not return requests for comment.
O’Sullivan was suspended for tweeting similar to Harwell’s Twitter timeout. O’Sullivan said Thursday that his tweets are legitimate news and do not contain personal or location information.
“Musk owns the platform,” said O’Sullivan. “He has the full right to ban us.
Lee said he appealed his suspension for interception rather than deleting the tweet because he “didn’t want to kneel to the mad king of Twitter.” Two days later, he wrote that he received a reply from Twitter saying he would not reverse the decision.
In response, Lee wrote, “I will not submit to Musk’s petty demands.”
Despite the reporter ban, some news outlets continue to advertise on Twitter.
Freelance journalist Aaron Luper has reinstated his account after agreeing to Twitter’s demand to remove a tweet linking to @ElonJet’s Facebook page.
Rupper said he didn’t believe the tweet violated the rules, but weighed the possibility of being cut indefinitely from his 836,000 followers against the platform’s demands.
“I’m not quitting Twitter,” he said in a Twitter direct message on Friday.
“Of course I have mixed feelings,” he added. “Then Twitter doesn’t feel like a comfortable place…[Musk] He owns the place, and if he wants to move a reporter, that’s his prerogative, but I think the backlash speaks for itself.
Since acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in late October, Musk has laid off thousands of employees. He has restored former President Donald Trump’s suspended account, as well as other accounts suspended under his previous control. say it Twitter’s new policy is “free speech, not free reach.”
He stepped down this week and said he would be looking for a new chief executive to run Twitter following the results of another poll he himself conducted.
Musk’s shaky control of the platform has delighted some on the far right, but has surprised many advertisers and media supporters.
A Washington oversight group called the Government Accountability Project urged House and Senate committees on Thursday to consider suspending journalists from Twitter. All of this is disturbing. ”
