Elon Musk today chose reply with sarcasm to criticism for suspending half a dozen journalists from Twitter. Days after several journalists from prominent organisations like CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post lost access to their accounts without any warning, Musk tweeted about the "freedom of speech" of the press.
"So inspiring to see the newfound love of freedom of speech by the press," tweeted the once wealthiest man of the world.
The accounts were later reinstated following a Twitter poll by Musk.
Musk, who acquired Twitter in October and took it private, had accused the journalists of endangering his family. What sparked this latest controversy was the suspension of an account that tracked his private jet. The move was necessary after "a crazy stalker" followed a car carrying one of his children in Los Angeles, said Musk who seemed to put the blame on the account tracking his jet.
Some of the journalists had reported on suspension of the jet tracker, which Musk said was "assassination coordinates" for his family, but provided no evidence for his claim.
"Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone travelled to on a slightly delayed basis isn't a safety problem, so is ok," he said yesterday.
The move was criticised by many, including global bodies like the United Nations and the European Union.
Musk tweeted a poll asking users whether to "unsuspend accounts who doxxed my exact location in real-time." The winning option was "now" with nearly 59 per cent votes.
"The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now," he said retweeting the poll.
Twitter recently unveiled a policy update prohibiting the sharing of live location information.
Musk this week lost the top spot on global rich list to Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury brand Louis Vuitton's parent company LVMH. This, after he sold Tesla shares worth $3.6 billion. He has so far raised $20 billion selling his shares in his electric vehicle firm.
Twitter is also looking for new equity investors, latest reports suggest.
