Twitter continues to ban several prominent journalists from the social media platform who refuse to delete tweets they have been ordered to remove.
After a firestorm of controversy following Elon Musk’s Twitter action that kicked out several journalists from Twitter earlier this month, Musk announced that he would agree to allow the journalists to return. But they had to remove some tweets. Journalists who do not comply will be banned, the reporters revealed.
The disputed tweets mention or link to the @ElonJet Twitter account, which tracks Musk’s private jet flights using publicly available information. Musk has said that tracking his flights puts his safety at risk, although he has posted his own locations in real time, including when he attended the World Cup final in Qatar just last Sunday.
But none of the banned tweets from @ElonJet reporters revealed information about Musk or the location of his plane, despite Musk’s claim that the reporters had posted “assassination coordinates” The Washington Post reports it.
The journalists emphasized that their tweets were part of a legitimate report.
Many of the ostracized reporters suspect that Musk – who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist” – holds other grudges for his coverage.
“The rules are arbitrary and capricious,” banned reporter Steve Herman, Voice of America’s chief national correspondent, told the Post. “They seem to be based on the whims of the platform owner.”
Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell said he has no plans to delete a tweet referring to Musk’s suspension of competitor Mastodon from Twitter because of its link to its version of @ElonJet.
“Absolutely not. I’m not going to delete a tweet that contained factual information and didn’t violate anyone’s rules,” Harwell said. It just happens.” it happens to target journalism they don’t like.”
The Intercept’s Micah Lee appealed to Twitter for his exile, he noted in an article, because he wrote that he didn’t want to “bring the mad king of Twitter to his knees.” Twitter responded that it would not reverse the decision, Lee said.
“I kept writing critical of billionaire Elon Musk since he took over Twitter, especially his hypocrisy about ‘free speech’ and censorship of leftist accounts,” Lee wrote. “That must have pissed me off.”
Ryan Mac of the New York Times, Donie O’Sullivan of CNN and Susan Li of Fox Business, among others, were also banned from Twitter.
Musk could not be reached for comment.
United Nations officials criticized the “dangerous precedent” of Musk’s crackdown on journalists.
European Union leaders warn that Musk’s actions have already breached the continent’s digital regulations that guarantee freedom of expression.
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