Twitter Chaos: Multiple Journalists Axed From Platform Without Cause
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on March 14, 2019, Hawthorne, California and the Twitter logo outside their headquarters in San Francisco, California, on October 28, 2022. Mary ManleyMusk is proud to be a free speech absolutist unless, of course, that speech is a criticism against Musk himself, it seems. The CEO earlier decided to ban the ElonJet account, which tracked the movements of his private plane using public information. The account was created by a 20-year-old college student who Musk vowed “legal action” against.Twitter CEO Elon Musk appeared to backtrack on his promise of being a “free speech absolutist” late Thursday after suspending the accounts of multiple journalists who produced reports on Twitter and its billionaire owner. The South African entrepreneur officially acquired Twitter in October for some $40 billion. Since then, however, things at the company have appeared to spiral out of control – such as the sacking of about half the company staff and the loss of advertisers.Musk has taken a sharp turn on what he promised to be a free speech utopia, which he said he envisioned as a “town square” which would police speech in accordance with US laws—but what Musk is now implying is that the site will be moderated based on his laws.Among the suspended Twitter accounts are: Ryan Mac of The New York Times, Donie O’Sullivan of CNN, Drew Harwell of The Washington Post, Matt Binder from Mashable, Micah Lee of The Intercept and independent journalists Aaron Rupar, Keith Olbermann and Tony Webster. Twitter also suspended the account of Mastadon, a company which rivaled Twitter.“We hope that all of the journalists’ accounts are reinstated and that Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action,” said Charlie Stadtlander, communications director for the Times.A similar statement was also issued by Sally Buzbee, the executive editor of the Washington Post, who noted that Harwell’s suspension “directly undermines Elon Musk’s claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech.”
Platforming Nazis & insurrectionists while banning journalists doesn’t just lead to the downfall of this godforsaken bird app. It also leads to the downfall of democracy. What Elon Musk is doing isn’t normal. It’s unhinged. It’s erratic. And it’s tearing the fabric of democracy.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) December 16, 2022
“Elon Musk is determined to show us all why billionaires must not be given control of the public square. They will always suppress actual free speech to serve themselves and we must forge a path to public ownership of these spaces,” tweeted @JoshuaPHilll.Twitter user and BuzzFeed staff member Charlie Warzel tweeted a link to a critical BuzzFeed article from 2018 co-written by Ryan Mac, a journalist whom Musk had suspended, saying: “Anyhow: this is the pattern: a thin-skinned spoiled child whose only real desire is to be at the top of every possible social and economic hierarchy and revered like Edison. And when he doesn’t get that, he lashes out.”
Exceptional journalism has never been more important, and Aaron Rupar has been among the most exceptional. He reports thoughtfully, thoroughly, and brilliantly. He is widely respected for his professionalism and integrity, and that terrifies Elon Musk.
— charlotteclymer@mastodon.social (@cmclymer) December 16, 2022
“Elon Musk just suspended a bunch of journalists, including Aaron Rupar, who cover him — without any reason. By silencing journalists, it’s clear that Elon Musk doesn’t care about free speech or democracy,” wrote Twitter user @Victorshi2020.“He only cares about himself. We should all be outraged.”