Twitter on Thursday suspended the accounts of journalists who wrote about the platform and its owner Elon Musk, including reporters working for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and other publications.
Responding to the action, Musk tweeted, “Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else.” According to a Reuters report, doxxing is a reference to Twitter rules banning the sharing of personal information.
Musk earlier tweeted that any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation.
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CNN said in a statement that “the impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, is concerning, but not surprising.”
“Twitter’s increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses Twitter,” CNN said. “We have asked Twitter for an explanation, and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response.”
A report quoted another journalist, Matt Binder of Mashable, who said his account was banned on Thursday night immediately after sharing a screenshot that O’Sullivan had posted before the CNN reporter’s suspension.
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On Wednesday, Twitter suspended @elonjet, an account tracking Musk's private jet in real-time using data available in the public domain. Musk had threatened legal action against the account's operator.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk tweeted a poll asking users to choose a period to unsuspend accounts who doxxed his exact location in real-time.
The accounts of Times reporter Ryan Mac, Post reporter Drew Harwell, CNN reporter Donie O'Sullivan, and Mashable reporter Matt Binder were suspended. The account of independent journalist Aaron Rupar, who covers US policy and politics, was also suspended.
A spokesperson for The New York Times said: "Tonight's suspension of the Twitter accounts of a number of prominent journalists, including The New York Times's Ryan Mac, is questionable and unfortunate. Neither The Times nor Ryan have received any explanation about why this occurred. We hope that all of the journalists' accounts are reinstated and that Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action."
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