Musk to restore suspended Twitter accounts of journalists

SAN FRANCISCO – Mr Elon Musk said late on Friday that he would reinstate the Twitter accounts of several journalists who were suspended after he accused them of endangering his family.

Mr Musk had drawn anger and warnings from the European Union and United Nations after he suspended the accounts of half a dozen prominent journalists from The New York Times, CNN and The Washington Post.

The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now, the Twitter owner tweeted.

Mr Musk carried out a Twitter poll asking whether he should restore the suspended accounts now or in a weeks time. Nearly 59 per cent of the 3.69 million who took part said he should restore the accounts now. Embed Twitter Tweet URL Some of the suspended accounts appeared to have been reactivated, with former Vox journalist Aaron Rupar tweeting again.

I was pretty bummed about getting suspended initially but quickly realised itd be fine because Im blessed to have an amazing online community, Mr Rupar tweeted, thanking people for their support.

The latest controversy began when Mr Musk on Wednesday suspended @elonjet, an account that tracked flights of his private jet. He said the move was necessary after a car in Los Angeles carrying one of his children was followed by a crazy stalker, and seemed to blame the tracking of his jet for the incident.

Some of the journalists had reported on the affair, including tweets linking to the suspended @elonjet account, which Mr Musk said amounted to assassination coordinates against him and his family.

In a chat hosted live on Twitter, he provided no evidence for his claim but told some of the suspended reporters that on Twitter everyones going to be treated the same… theyre not special because youre a journalist.

Pressed further on his allegations, he ended the conversation. Twitter Spaces, the feature where the chat took place, was then suspended.

Mr Musks move to suspend the journalists accounts had drawn sharp criticism from media organisations, the EU and UN.

News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying, EU commissioner Vera Jourova posted on Twitter, warning that the influential platform could face hefty fines through European laws.

Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon, she added.

The spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres called it a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists all over the world are facing censorship, physical threats and even worse.

Twitter has lurched from one controversy to the next since Mr Musk took control after paying US$44 billion (S$60 billion), mainly by selling shares in Tesla, his successful electric car company. More On This Topic Elon Musk's Twitter suspension of journalists draws global backlash Twitter suspends account that tracked Elon Musks private jet The billionaires talk of unfettered speech has scared off major advertisers and caught the attention of regulators.

Mr Musk has reinstated the account of former US president Donald Trump, and lashed out against the outgoing key adviser for the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Anthony Fauci, a frequent target of vitriol in right-wing media.

CNN has reported that Twitters former head of trust and safety fled his home after baseless attacks on Twitter content moderation, endorsed by Mr Musk.

Meanwhile, a purge initiated by Mr Musk at Twitter left more than half of its 7,500 employees out of work, and now many of them are taking the SpaceX and Tesla tycoon to court.

Mr Musk at one point signalled he was going to war with Apple over the App Store, only to later tweet that it was a misunderstanding.

Market tracker Insider Intelligence forecast that Twitter would experience an exodus of users.

There wont be one catastrophic event that ends Twitter, said Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg.Instead, users will start to leave the platform next year as they grow frustrated with technical issues and the proliferation of hateful or other unsavoury content.AFP More On This Topic Twitter suspends accounts of journalists covering Musk, upstart rival Mastodon Elon Musk's banks to book Twitter loan losses, avoid big hits: Sources