Elon Musk Imposes Twitter Bans on Correspondents from CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post Without Providing a Reason
In a shocking turn of events, several high-profile journalists from CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other media outlets have found their Twitter accounts suspended on Thursday evening. Among those affected were Donie O'Sullivan (CNN), Ryan Mac (The New York Times), Drew Harwell (The Washington Post), and Aaron Rupar.
The suspensions have sparked a wave of concern and raised questions about the future of Twitter and Elon Musk's commitment to free speech. Musk, the new owner of Twitter (renamed X), has played a direct role in these decisions, as revealed through various internal documents and controversies surrounding the platform's moderation policies under his leadership.
The reasons for the suspensions remain unspecified by Twitter or Musk. However, it appears that the suspensions may be linked to the journalists' coverage of the restriction of the @ElonJet account, an account that tracks Elon Musk's private plane on Twitter. Musk had previously banned @ElonJet from the platform.
Jack Sweeney, the university student who runs @ElonJet, was highlighted by some of the suspended reporters. The Mastodon account, which had earlier tweeted that people could follow @ElonJet after Musk banned it from Twitter on Wednesday, was also banned by Twitter on Thursday.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan had interviewed Sweeney and his grandmother about the issue. O'Sullivan expressed concern about the potential chilling effect on independent journalists covering Elon Musk's companies.
Elon Musk has previously stated that he wants to allow all legal speech on the platform. However, he has also reinstated previous rule-breakers and stopped implementing the platform's plans forbidding Covid-19 false information. Musk has also introduced new plans outlawing accounts that track individuals' online places, a move that has been criticised by many, including the suspended journalists.
CNN and The New York Times have requested explanations from Twitter for the suspensions. Some Twitter users have also reported being blocked from sharing links to their own profiles on alternative social networks, including Mastodon.
As the dust settles, it remains to be seen how these developments will shape the future of Twitter and the journalistic community on the platform.
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