Twitter CEO Elon Musk explained why he suspended the accounts of left-wing journalists in a Thursday night post.
“Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else,” Musk responded to a thread by venture capitalist Mike Solana questioning the suspensions.
so far, i’ve been able to confirm about half the accounts suspended posted links to the jet tracker thing in violation of the new doxx’ing policy. unclear just yet about the rest, but i think it’s safe to say the rule is for real. https://t.co/8MDCG19kNO
— Mike Solana (@micsolana) December 16, 2022
He added, “They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service.”
Same doxxing rules apply to “journalists” as to everyone else
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022
“Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not,” the Space X and Tesla CEO continued.
Meltdown!!!! pic.twitter.com/7kBQ6mzEft
— Israel75 (@IFNY2775) December 16, 2022
On Wednesday night, Musk released video footage of the man who allegedly stalked and attacked the car in which his young son was riding. He tweeted, “Anyone recognize this person or car?” along with a video showing a masked man in black inside the vehicle.
Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood.
Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 15, 2022
Musk revealed earlier in the day that the car his son X Æ A-12 was riding in had been trailed by a “crazy stalker” on Tuesday night, leading to an announcement by Musk that any accounts on Twitter that doxxed a person’s real-time location would be suspended from the platform.
“Last night,” he said, “car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood.”
“Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation,” Musk tweeted, and stated the policy “includes posting links to sites with real-time location info.”
“Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.”
On Wednesday, Musk also suspended an account that had previously tracked his private jet in real time and promised to take legal action against the account’s owner for endangering his family.
Thursday night, Musk confirmed that the suspensions will last seven days writing, “Accounts engaged in doxxing receive a temporary 7 day suspension.”
Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022
He also said that the company was working on a feature that would display the time period of the suspension and what the account was suspended for.
Does this include @JxckSweeney, @ElonJet, etc?
Also what are your thoughts on displaying the following on actioned accounts?:
1. Time period of suspension
2. The policy violationWould clear up a lot of questions to public & increase transparency. pic.twitter.com/sCG0n4S6Cu
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) December 16, 2022
Left-wing journalists and activists melted down on the platform Thursday night following the suspension of prominent media personalities who are frequent critics of Musk.
Having been on the receiving end of @keitholbermann's tweet mobs more than once, I can't say I'm going to miss him. But I don't like seeing anyone get suspended, so I hope this isn't permanent. pic.twitter.com/dChUvP7DXB
— Rebecca Mansour (@RAMansour) December 16, 2022
The billionaire wrote in response to a tweet from Breitbart News editor-at-large Rebecca Monsour discussing the suspension of far-left former MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann, “7 day suspension for doxxing. Some time away from Twitter is good for the soul …”
Accounts that were suspended included CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan, New York Times technology reporter Ryan Mac, Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, The Intercept journalist Micah Lee, and Mashable writer Matt Binder.
Massacre
Hearing Aaron doxxed Elon’s jet. Did they all do it? pic.twitter.com/PLBqacMG2P
— Birthday Purge Poso🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) December 16, 2022
Far-left propagandist Aaron Rupar was among those suspended as was the prominent Antifa group “It’s Going Down.”
Would you consider setting up a dedicated task force at Twitter to deal with violent extremists like Antifa?
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 15, 2022
Musk previously pledged to rid the platform of violent extremists and doubled down on the promise Thursday night writing, “Twitter obviously must be fair to all, so will aim to stop violent extremism being promoted by any group.”
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