Journalists critical of Musk kicked off Twitter for 'doxxing' his jet
Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists who had written about owner Elon Musk and an account that tracked the location of his private jet. Mr. Musk says sharing his personal whereabouts constitutes doxxing and violates the platform鈥檚 rules.
Elon Musk arrives at the justice center in Wilmington, Delaware, July 13, 2021. Twitter on Dec. 15, 2022, suspended the accounts of journalists who cover the social media platform and Mr. Musk, including reporters working for The New York Times and Washington Post.
Matt Rourke/AP
Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists who cover the social media platform, the latest battle over what can and cannot be said on the site since billionaire Elon Musk took control of it.
Accounts of reporters with The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Voice of America, and other publications, went dark Thursday.
The company hasn鈥檛 explained to the journalists why it took down the accounts and made their profiles and past tweets disappear. But Mr. Musk took to Twitter on Thursday night to accuse journalists of sharing private information about his whereabouts that he described as 鈥渂asically assassination coordinates.鈥� He provided no evidence for that claim.
The sudden suspension of news reporters followed Mr. Musk鈥檚 decision Wednesday to permanently ban an account that automatically tracked the flights of his private jet using publicly available data. That also led Twitter to change its rules for all users to prohibit the sharing of another person鈥檚 current location without their consent.
Several of the reporters suspended Thursday night had been writing about the new policy and Mr. Musk鈥檚 rationale for imposing it, which involved his allegations about a stalking incident he said affected his family on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
The official account for Mastodon, a decentralized social network billed as an alternative to Twitter, was also banned. The reason was unclear, though it had tweeted about the jet tracking account.
鈥淪ame doxxing rules apply to 鈥榡ournalists鈥� as to everyone else,鈥� Mr. Musk tweeted Thursday. He later added, 鈥淐riticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not.鈥�
鈥淒oxxing鈥� refers to disclosing online someone鈥檚 identity, address, or other personal details.
The Washington Post鈥檚 executive editor, Sally Buzbee, called for technology reporter Drew Harwell鈥檚 Twitter account to be reinstated immediately. The suspension 鈥渄irectly undermines Elon Musk鈥檚 claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech,鈥� Ms. Buzbee wrote. 鈥淗arwell was banished without warning, process or explanation, following the publication of his accurate reporting about Musk.鈥�
CNN said in a statement that 鈥渢he impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN鈥檚 Donie O鈥橲ullivan, is concerning but not surprising.鈥�
鈥淭witter鈥檚 increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses Twitter,鈥� CNN鈥檚 statement added. 鈥淲e have asked Twitter for an explanation, and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response.鈥�
Another suspended journalist, Matt Binder of the technology news outlet Mashable, said he was banned Thursday night immediately after sharing a screenshot that Mr. O鈥橲ullivan had posted before his own suspension.
The screenshot showed a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department sent earlier Thursday to multiple media outlets, including The Associated Press, about how it was in touch with Mr. Musk鈥檚 representatives about the alleged stalking incident, but that no crime report had yet been filed.
鈥淚 did not share any location data, as per Twitter鈥檚 new terms. Nor did I share any links to ElonJet or other location tracking accounts,鈥� Mr. Binder said in an email. 鈥淚 have been highly critical of Mr. Musk but never broke any of Twitter鈥檚 listed policies.鈥�
Mr. Binder said a message he received while trying to access his Twitter account showed that his suspension was permanent. But Mr. Musk later suggested the penalty would last a week in response to a question about his suspension of former ESPN and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann.
Late Thursday, Mr. Musk briefly joined a Twitter Spaces conference chat hosted by journalist Kate Notopoulos of Buzzfeed. He reiterated his claims that the journalists Twitter banned were 鈥渄oxxing鈥� him when they were reporting on the jet tracking accounts being banned.
鈥淭here is not special treatment for journalists,鈥� Mr. Musk said, after being asked by the Post鈥檚 Drew Harwell if he had a connection between the stalking incident and posting of real-time information.
鈥淵ou dox, you get suspended, end of story,鈥� he added, before abruptly signing out. The Spaces ended abruptly shortly after 9 p.m. Pacific time.
鈥淪orry it appears the Space cut out, screen went suddenly blank on my end and everyone got booted,鈥� host Ms. Notopoulos tweeted at 9:14 p.m. Pacific.
Another suspended reporter, Steve Herman of Voice of America, said he assumes he was banned 鈥渂ecause I was tweeting about other journalists being suspended for tweeting about accounts being booted that had linked to the Elon Jet feed.鈥�
The suspensions come as Mr. Musk makes major changes to content moderation on Twitter. He has tried, through the release of selected company documents dubbed as 鈥淭he Twitter Files,鈥� to claim the platform suppressed right-wing voices under its previous leaders.
He has promised to let free speech reign and has reinstated high-profile accounts that previously broke Twitter鈥檚 rules against hateful conduct or harmful misinformation, but also has said he would suppress negativity and hate by depriving some accounts of 鈥渇reedom of reach.鈥�
The nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists, which defends journalists around the world, said Thursday night it was concerned about the suspensions.
鈥淚f confirmed as retaliation for their work, this would be a serious violation of journalists鈥� right to report the news without fear of reprisal,鈥� the group said.
European Union Commissioner Vera Jourova, who heads up the 27-nation bloc鈥檚 work on values and transparency, also weighed in.
鈥淣ews about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying,鈥� she tweeted. New digital regulations taking effect next year require 鈥渞espect of media freedom and fundamental rights.鈥�
Ms. Jourova said, 鈥淍elonmusk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.鈥�
Under the new EU rules, Big Tech companies would have to explain to European users why their accounts were suspended and give them a chance to challenge the decision. Violations would risk big fines; repeat offenses could even result in a Europe-wide operating ban.
The Germany government added more criticism. The Foreign Ministry tweeted that it鈥檚 鈥済ot a problem鈥� with not being able to follow the suspended accounts and added that 鈥減ress freedom must not be switched on and off at will.鈥�
Spokesman Christofer Burger said the ministry opened an account on Mastodon 鈥渢o ensure we remain reachable.鈥�
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Kelvin Chan in London and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.