Musk reinstates suspended Twitter accounts of journalists after backlash

WASHINGTON: Elon Musk  lifted the suspension of the Twitter accounts of a slew of journalists that he had banned earlier following the results of a poll he conducted among Twitter users.

“The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now,” the Twitter owner tweeted.

The people have spoken.

Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now. https://t.co/MFdXbEQFCe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2022

According to Fox News, a US-based news outlet, Musk polled users for 24 hours to choose whether the accounts should be restored “immediately” or “in 7 days.” In a 59-41 point split, Twitter users largely chose “now.” The survey received responses from about 3.7 million Twitter users.

In a different poll Musk conducted on Thursday, “now” also outperformed “tomorrow,” “in 7 days,” and “longer,” but Musk said the poll featured “too many options.”

Famous legacy media journalists, including CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan, New York Times technology reporter Ryan Mac, and Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, were abruptly informed that they were “permanently suspended” during what has come to be known as the “Thursday Night Massacre.”

Journalists Micah Lee of The Intercept, Steve Herman of Voice of America, Matt Binder of Mashable, Keith Olbermann of ex-MSNBC, and Aaron Rupar of ex-Vox were also impacted.

The controversy began when @ElonJet, an account that only tracked Musk’s use of private aircraft, was suspended. Because the account was “doxxing real-time location info” and posting video of a “crazy stalker” who was harassing his child in Los Angeles while believing the Twitter owner was present, Musk claimed the account was suspended for a “physical safety violation” and was consequently suspended. Musk threatened to sue the person who used the account.

On Wednesday, Musk warned Twitter users, “Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info.”

The users who were banned from Twitter on Thursday either shared links to the private aircraft monitoring on their own Twitter accounts or had reported on @ElonJet’s suspension.

According to Fox News, many criticised the premise of Musk’s “doxxing” accusations because his use of a private jet is public knowledge, while others accused him of hypocrisy because the billionaire had referred to himself as a “free speech absolutist” during his acquisition of Twitter.

Statements from CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post all criticised the “impulsive and unreasonable” action and demanded that their correspondents be allowed back on Twitter.

Many backed Musk by claiming that the journalists had violated the rules. Others rejoiced in the suspensions, claiming that individuals who received punishment championed censorship and kept quiet when Twitter retaliated against others before Musk, such as the New York Post during the 2020 presidential election for its reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. (ANI)