As Twitter's new boss Elon Musk tweeted that journalists were subject to the same rules against releasing personal information, the microblogging platform on Thursday suspended the accounts of numerous well-known journalists who had lately reported on him. According to Reuters, all the suspended reporters have in recent months written about Twitter's owner and changes at the platform since he bought it.
He had tweeted last month that his commitment to free speech extended "even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk".
A user took to Twitter and said that the suspended accounts had links to the jet tracker which was in violation of the new doxxing policy. "Unclear just yet about the rest, but i think it's safe to say the rule is for real," he said. Responding to the same, Mr Musk said, "Same doxxing rules apply to "journalists" as to everyone else." In another tweet he said, "They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service."
This caught the eye of US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, popularly known as AOC. She slammed the billionaire for banning the accounts of the journalists, calling it abuse of power. She said, "You're a public figure. An extremely controversial and powerful one. I get feeling unsafe, but descending into abuse of power + erratically banning journalists only increases the intensity around you.Take a beat and lay off the proto-fascism. Maybe try putting down your phone."
She also wrote that she faced "scary incidents" herself. "As someone who has been subject to real + dangerous plots, I do get it. I didn't have security and have experienced many scary incidents. In fact, many of the right-wing outlets you now elevate published photos of my home, car, etc. At a certain point you gotta disconnect," AOC added.
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According to Reuters, the suspended accounts include that of Times reporter Ryan Mac, CNN reporter Donie O'Sullivan, Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, Mashable reporter Matt Binder and independent journalist Aaron Rupar.
