Twitter suddenly suspends several journalists who covered Elon Musk; CNN calls move ‘impulsive and unjustified’

TO UPDATE: Elon Musk has commented on Twitter’s suspension of journalists covering his argument with a user who covered his private jet trip, claiming the reporters posted “my exact real-time location, basically murder coordinates.”

“Je doxx, you’re suspended, end of story,” Musk said Thursday in a Twitter Spaces conversation with reporters.

But one of the suspended journalists, Washington Post’s Drew Harwell, told Musk: “You’re suggesting that we share your address, which is not true.” He said they posted a link to @ElonJet, the account that publicly used available data to report on Musk’s private jet movements. He noted that the @ElonJet account has now been suspended from Twitter.

“We have to recognize that you are using the same link-blocking technique that you criticized in the context of the Hunter Biden and New York Post story in 2020,” Harwell said.

“You Doxx, you’re going to be fired,” Musk said before hanging up on the call.

Musk recently instituted a policy restricting accounts that post real-time tracking data, while also angering the @ElonJet account. Musk proposed early on to leave the account on the platform, as he advertised himself as an absolute believer in freedom of expression.

Journalist Aaron Rupar, who received news that his account was permanently suspended, wrote in a Substack post that he had “no idea what rules I allegedly broke.” He said he published a newsletter Wednesday with an article about Musk’s “reactionary populism,” and also tweeted that Musk himself “appears to be violating Twitter’s policy of posting images of people without their consent.”

Twitter’s actions drew widespread criticism not only from CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post, which employ some of the suspended journalists, but also from lawmakers.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) wrote directly to Musk on Twitter: “You are a public figure. An extremely controversial and powerful one. I get an unsafe feeling but slipping into abuse of power + unpredictable banning of journalists only increases the intensity around you. Take a hit and fire proto-fascism. Maybe try putting your phone away.”

Musk tweeted a poll asking when he should close accounts. When the answer “Now” was the best choice, Musk wrote: “Sorry, too many options. Will repeat the poll.

EARLY 18:15: On Thursday, Twitter abruptly suspended the accounts of several journalists, including the Washington Post, CNN and the New York Times, as well as media expert Keith Olbermann. Everyone has covered Elon Musk in the past.

News leaked tonight when journalists’ Twitter accounts received the “account suspended” treatment on their feeds.

Among those blocked from accessing the social media site are the Washington Postby Drew Harwell, the New York TimesRyan Mac, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, The interceptionMashable’s Micah Lee, Mashable’s Matt Binder, and independent journalists Tony Webster and Aaron Rupar. Olbermann’s account has also been suspended, with his latest tweet, picked up by fellow Twitter users, showing that he is working to support Rupar and other reporters.

The Twitter account of rival social media platform Mastodon was also suspended tonight.

Accordingly Washington Post, where Harwell is a technology reporter, accounts began going offline around 7:30 PM ET. That About said most of the journalists involved recently reported on Musk’s argument with a Twitter user who followed Musk’s private jet travels.

@ElonJet, run by Florida student Jack Sweeney, used publicly available flight tracking to alert followers to the location of Musk’s Gulfstream jet. Sweeney said @ElonJet was suspended from Twitter on Wednesday and its own account followed suit today.

The above information was reported by, among others, the now suspended O’Sullivan, a CNN correspondent who reports on the intersection of politics and technology.

“The impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, is troubling but not surprising,” a CNN spokesperson said tonight. “Twitter’s increasing instability and volatility should be a major concern for anyone who uses Twitter. We’ve reached out to Twitter for clarification and will reevaluate our relationship based on that response.”

Added the New York TimesCharlie Stadtlander, Director of External Communications: “Today’s suspension of the Twitter accounts of a number of prominent journalists, including Ryan Mac of The New York Times, is questionable and unfortunate. Neither The Times nor Ryan was given an explanation as to why this happened. We hope that all journalists’ accounts will be recovered and that Twitter will provide a satisfactory explanation for this action.”

Sally Buzbee, editor-in-chief of The Washington Post, said: “The suspension of Drew Harwell’s Twitter account directly undermines Elon Musk’s claim that he intends to operate Twitter as a platform for free speech. Harwell was banned from Twitter without warning, trial or explanation after posting his accurate coverage of Musk. Our journalist must be rehired immediately.”

Rupar confirmed the ban on his Substack page this evening, which included a screenshot from Twitter showing his account has been permanently banned. “I have no idea what rules I allegedly broke,” he wrote. “I’ve never heard of Twitter.”

Commenting on a tweet criticizing the lockdowns, Musk wrote: “Criticizing me all day is fine, but doxxing my real-time location and putting my family at risk is not.”

The popular topic of ‘Thursday Night Massacre’ emerged as the restrictions came to light. Musk did not comment on the move on his own Twitter account.

At a DC event of FCC commissioners and telecom staff, Commissioner Brendan Carr, who has been outspoken about free speech on platforms, said he was not familiar with the circumstances of the suspensions, but told Deadline: “A person don’t stand up for decisions. or to participate in the digital town square.”

Carr has criticized Twitter’s previous decisions to sanction Donald Trump and other right-wing voices, but only tweeted on Wednesday: “There is not a single person who should have carte blanche to ban the ideas that can be discussed in the digital town square. do not direct Therefore, Congress should pass pro-language reforms that prohibit discrimination against big tech based on political, religious, or scientific beliefs.

Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.