Twitter Threatened With EU Sanctions After Suspending Journalists Over @ElonJet Reporting
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Friday, Twitter suspended several journalists who had reported on the suspension of an account tracking a private jet owned by the company's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk.
Key Quotes: Musk explained, “Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else,” adding, “They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service.” European Commissioner Věra Jourová called the suspensions “arbitrary,” “worrying,” and potential violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act, saying, “There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.”
For Context: Musk reinstated the journalists Saturday; in Musk's poll of nearly 3.7 million users, 58.7% voted to reinstate the journalists immediately. According to NBC News (Lean Left bias), the journalists all reported on the suspension of @ElonJet, an account tracking publicly-accessible location information on Musk’s private jet. Twitter also suspended Mastodon, a platform that still allowed @ElonJet’s posts. The suspensions included journalists from CNN (Left bias), The New York Times (Lean Left bias), and Voice of America (Center bias).
Where the Media Agreed: Voices across the political spectrum, including Ben Shapiro (Right bias) and Twitter Files reporter Bari Weiss (Center bias), voiced opposition to the suspensions.
Where the Media Disagreed: While some left-rated outlets highlighted Musk reversing his pledge not to ban @ElonJet, some right-rated outlets highlighted a purported “double standard” of people criticizing the bans while supporting suspensions of conservatives. Updated 12/17/22 at 8:39 a.m. ET
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Elon Musk suspending CNN, NYT journalists from Twitter has users decrying double standard: 'No shame'
Twitter owner Elon Musk suspended several prominent media personalities from his platform on Thursday — a decision that was met with swift criticism by some, but to the applause of others.
The suspended journalists include CNN correspondent Donie O'Sullivan, New York Times technology reporter Ryan Mac, Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, The Intercept journalist Micah Lee, Mashable writer Matt Binder, former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann and former Vox journalist Aaron Rupar.
The journalists allegedly violated Twitter’s new policy not to share location information, known as "doxxing," and were suspended for seven days, Musk said.
From the Left
‘There are red lines’: Europe warns of sanctions after Twitter bans journalists
Elon Musk’s decision to suddenly ban prominent tech journalists from Twitter is fanning a fierce backlash in Europe.
Germany warned of the impact on press freedom, while a senior EU official said Twitter must comply with the bloc’s rules or face possible sanctions.
“Freedom of the press cannot be switched on and off as you please,” Germany’s foreign ministry tweeted on Friday. “As of today these journalists are no longer able to follow us, to comment or criticize. We have a problem with that @Twitter.”
Věra Jourová, the European Commission’s vice president for values...
From the Center
Twitter just banned prominent journalists who cover Elon Musk with no warning
On Thursday evening, Twitter suspended a number of prominent journalists on the platform without warning or explanation.
The situation followed the company’s decision to suspend the Twitter account of Mastodon, an open source social media alternative that’s built momentum since Elon Musk took over at the company. Twitter took action against Mastodon after the account linked to the Mastodon page of @ElonJet, a student-made bot that tracks the whereabouts of Musk’s private jet.
At least some of the accounts suspended had shared screenshots and observations about Mastodon’s suspension. Just prior to his suspension,...
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