Elon Musk’s action this week sparked a contentious debate about the free speech issue and the abrupt suspension of most journalists.
Musk Suspends Journalists on Twitter
Journalists’ accounts from CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other outlets were abruptly suspended on Twitter without notice on Thursday. However, Musk claimed on Twitter on Thursday night that journalists had sent what he called “basically assassination coordinates.” on his action, in addition, Musk provided no evidence for that claim.
The sudden blackouts of news reporters’ accounts followed Musk’s decision Wednesday to permanently ban an account that automatically monitored the travels of his private plane using publicly available data.
That also led Twitter to modify its rules for all users to restrict the sharing of another person’s present location without their permission. after buying Twitter in a US$44 billion deal as part of his agreement to free speech on the platform, Musk had gone public commitment he would not touch the account
Journalists Critics Musk
The following users were banned from the social networking website: Aaron Rupar, Drew Harwell, Steve Herman, Matt Binder, Tony Webster, Michah Lee, Donie O’Sullivan, and Steve Herman. The suspended accounts of a well-known broadcaster Keith Olbermann and the Mastodon handle. The platform also disbands the Anarchist news site “It’s Going Down”. The account for flight tracker ADS-B Exchange is no longer available as well, as reported by MARCA
CNN released an online statement regarding their public relations account on Twitter: “The impulsive and unjustified suspension is alarming but not surprising. Twitter should be extremely concerned about volatility for everyone who uses Twitter. We have contacted Twitter for an explanation, and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response.”