December 2022 Twitter suspensions
On December 15, 2022, Twitter suspended the accounts of ten journalists who have covered the company and its owner, Elon Musk. They included reporters Keith Olbermann, Steven L. Herman, and Donie O'Sullivan, and journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Intercept.[2][3][4][5] Musk cited an incident between "a crazy stalker" and a car with his child as a justification for the suspensions.[6] Posters on behalf of the owners of the accounts said that the suspensions were permanent.[2][3][5] On December 16, 2022 Musk stated that account access would only be restricted for seven days[2][3][5] and on December 17, 2022 some accounts were reportedly restored with Musk citing Twitter community polls as the reason for the reversal. [7][8]
Date
December 15, 2022
Twitter journalist purge
Twitter Safety policy change
Doxxing response
Elon Musk and Twitter
ElonJet and 10 journalists suspended including Steven L. Herman, Donie O'Sullivan, Linette Lopez and Keith Olbermann
Twitter officials initially offered no explanation for their decision.[2] They later stated it was due to violations of a new rule, created one day before the bans took place. The policy change prohibited accounts from sharing real-time flight information of private jets.[2][3][9] The bans were allegedly in response to the @ElonJet account, which tracks Musk's private jet. The account and other similar accounts were suspended from Twitter on December 14, 2022, but continued operating on Facebook, Mastodon, and other social media platforms.[3][10][11]
Several of the suspended journalists said they had not violated the rule, and while some had included links to @ElonJet in their articles or reported about the account, it was already suspended at the time of media reports.[2][4][5] The Twitter account of Mastodon – a rival social-media platform – was also suspended on December 15 after linking to @ElonJet on a Mastodon server.[5] Users were unable to share Mastodon links in their tweets[3] and they were labeled as "potentially harmful" and containing "malware".[12][13]
The suspensions drew criticism from various organizations and individuals.[2][14] Some said the actions undermined Musk's repeated claims of supporting free speech on Twitter, while others said Musk had a history of doxxing and harassing people in similar ways, which he was now criticizing.[2][15] The suspensions were condemned by representatives of several countries and organizations, including the United Nations and the European Union.[14][16] EU officials said the actions may have violated the Digital Services Act, which could result in sanctions or even a ban of Twitter in Europe.[4][17] The Government Accountability Project filed a complaint to the United States Congress regarding the suspensions.[18]
Responses[edit]
Suspended journalists[edit]
The journalists were not initially told if their accounts had been permanently or temporarily suspended, and were not informed why they had been blocked or what specific rule was violated.[2][24][4] Immediately after the suspension, Rupar said he was given no information about why the action occurred,[2][4] saying he hadn't "been given a reason, explanation, or been looped in about any possible duration."[2] Rupar added that he "didn't post anything remotely controversial today or anytime recently".[2] Micah Lee also said he was not given a reason for the suspension, but said it came shortly after he posted on Twitter about Mastodon's account suspension.[24] Lee also wrote: "While my reporting may not have provided the direct impetus for my suspension, it's clear Musk was taking aim specifically at journalists who have covered him critically."[24] Olbermann's suspension occurred shortly after he had criticized the suspension of other journalists.[2] Rupar's suspension came one day after he had shared a Substack article by Noah Berlatsky that was critical of Musk, entitled "Elon Musk's reactionary populism".[5][49] After Musk's explanation about the suspensions, Aaron Rupar said he had not posted anything that violated the policy about disclosing locations, and had never posted anything about @ElonJet prior to his suspension, adding: "Unless the policy is that you criticize Elon and you get suspended."[5]
Some of the suspended journalists had written stories about Musk suspending @ElonJet,[4] though others had not. Matt Binder said he did not share any location data or links to jet-tracking accounts, and was suspended immediately after sharing a screenshot that Donie O'Sullivan posted before his own suspension. Binder said, "I have been highly critical of Musk but never broke any of Twitter's listed policies."[47] Linette Lopez said of her suspension: "Its funny that Elon suddenly has a problem with doxxing and harassing people because he [also] has a history of doing that ..."[15] Drew Harwell said he did not share information about Musk's private jet or personal location, but simply posted a link to the @ElonJet account in his stories.[14][4] In a direct conversation with Musk on Twitter Spaces, Harwell said: "We have to acknowledge you are using the same exact link-blocking technique that you have criticized as part of the Hunter Biden–New York Post story in 2020."[24][4] In an interview with CNN, Harwell stated: "Elon says he is a free speech champion and he is banning journalists for exercising free speech. I think that calls into question his commitment."[5]
Other commentators[edit]
New York Times external communications director Charlie Stadtlander said that the suspensions were "questionable and unfortunate", and that neither their organization nor Times journalist Ryan Mac were provided an adequate explanation for the decision to suspend the accounts.[1] Washington Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee said the suspensions occurred "without warning, process, or explanation" and that they "directly undermined Elon Musk's claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech".[50] CNN stated that Musk's actions were "impulsive and unjustified" but "not surprising", and that it would reevaluate its relationship with Twitter. The CNN statement also said: "Twitter's increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses Twitter."[47] Oliver Darcy, a CNN reporter, wrote that Musk's allegations of doxxing were "not what those journalists did".[2] Cybersecurity writer Brian Krebs said Twitter's claim that Mastodon links might have malware was a "bald-faced lie".[47] Lou Paskalis, a media executive, said the suspensions could create uncertainty among news organizations and advertisers. Paskalis said the bans were "the biggest self-inflicted wound I can think of".[47]
Commentators have been critical of the suspensions, including media outlets and international representatives,[2][14] officials from several countries, the United Nations and European Union.[14] Many critics said the actions undermined Musk's claims of supporting free speech.[2] The suspensions were labeled by Alex Stamos, a security researcher, and Micah Lee from The Intercept, as the "Thursday Night Massacre".[24][7][4][14]
United Nations spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said she was disturbed by the bans and that "media freedom is not a toy".[14] Stephane Dujarric, another UN spokesperson, said they were reconsidering their involvement with Twitter, and that the suspensions set "a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists all over the world are facing censorship, physical threats and even worse".[47] U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote public tweets directly to Musk, saying the suspensions were irresponsible actions, and that they only increase the scrutiny around him, adding that he should "lay off the proto-fascism."[53] Věra Jourová, the Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, said on December 16 that "news about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying."[4]
European Commission officials said Musk's actions may have violated the Digital Services Act, which could result in sanctions or even a ban on the social media platform across all of Europe.[4][17] Johannes Bahrke, of the European Commission, said it was encouraging that some journalists were reinstated, but was concerned about Musk using informal Twitter polls to make such decisions rather than through a clearly-defined framework.[17]
Roland Lescure, the French Minister of Commerce, ceased all of his Twitter activity in protest.[14] The German Foreign Office warned that the suspensions jeopardize press freedom.[14] The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing said Twitter's actions "violate the spirit of the First Amendment and the principle that social media platforms will allow the unfiltered distribution of information that is already in the public square".[14]
Bari Weiss, who worked with Musk to publish the Twitter Files, disagreed and argued with Musk on Twitter about his decision, stating "the old regime at Twitter [was] governed by its own whims and biases...[and] it sure looks like the new regime has the same problem".[47][54][55] On December 16, Wired reporter Amanda Hoover quoted John Davisson, a senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, saying "Musk is responding to events that affect him personally to reshape that policy and place new limits on what could be disseminated through the platform..."[56] Hoover concluded that "This new approach will have a lasting impact on Twitter."[56]
The Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection and advocacy organization, filed a complaint to the United States Congress on December 22, saying Musk "abused his authority by acting arbitrarily and capriciously" in suspending the journalists. David Seide, senior counsel with the organization, called the actions "disturbing" and urged Congress to "review this mistreatment" and investigate further.[18] Brendan Carr, an FCC commissioner, said that "one person should not get to decide who participates in the digital town square".[4]