Elon Musk reinstates some suspended journalist accounts on Twitter

Elon Musk reestablished the accounts of Twitter of several journalists who had been suspended after the mogul accused them of endangering his family, some of whom tweeted on Saturday.

The owner of Twitter had come under fire from the United Nations, the European Union and media organizations after suspending the accounts of more than half a dozen prominent journalists from The New York Times, CNN y The Washington Post.

“People have spoken. Accounts that revealed my location will now have their suspension lifted,” Musk tweeted late Friday.

Musk had organized a poll in Twitter about whether to reinstate the accounts now or in a week. Almost 59% of the 3.69 million users who participated voted to do so immediately.

Some of the suspended accounts, like that of former Vox reporter Aaron Rupar, republished content on Saturday.

“I was pretty upset about being banned initially but quickly realized I was going to be okay because I’m lucky to have an amazing online community,” Rupar tweeted, thanking them for the support.

Later in the chain MSNBCRupar warned that suspensions, even temporary ones, would have a “chilling effect on coverage of Elon Musk” and would make journalists think twice before running afoul of the company’s new owner.

The accounts of a few other journalists remained suspended as of early Saturday, including those of Linette Lopez of Business Insider and the presenter of MSNBC Keith Olbermann.

The controversy had begun on Wednesday when Musk suspended @elonjetthe account that tracked flights on his private plane. Musk he justified the move by saying that a car in Los Angeles carrying one of his children was chased by “a crazy stalker.”

Some journalists reported on the issue, including with tweets linking to the suspended @elonjet account, which Musk said was equivalent to giving “the coordinates that would allow a murder” of him or his family.

In a live forum on Twitter Spaces on Friday, Musk provided no evidence for his claim, saying journalists were not going to get special treatment for being journalists.

But when asked for more details on his accusations, Musk ended the discussion and left the forum, which was suspended. The live audio service was back up and running on Friday, and Musk said he had been fixing a glitch.

Criticism and controversies

Musk’s suspensions drew strong criticism.

The head of human rights HIMVolker Turk, welcomed in a tweet the decision of Musk to restore the accounts, but said “serious concerns remain. He also urged Musk to commit to making decisions based on respect for rights, including free speech, “nothing less.”

Earlier, the spokesman for the head of the HIMAntonio Guterres, had said that this set a “dangerous precedent at a time when journalists around the world face censorship, physical threats and even worse.”

The EU had warned that Twitter could be fined under European law. “The news about the arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying,” European Commissioner for Transparency Vera Jourova tweeted.

Twitter has been surrounded by controversy ever since Musk took control of the social network at the end of October after paying $44 billion, mainly for the sale of shares in Tesla, his successful electric car company.

The billionaire’s claims about the need for unrestricted speech, and the instability surrounding Twitter, have alienated major advertisers and drawn the attention of regulators.

Musk recently restored the account of former United States President Donald Trump, which had been blocked due to the risk of further incitement to violence after the assault on the Capitol in January 2021. And on the other hand, he attacked the key adviser for the US response against Covid -19, Anthony Faucitargeted by the right-wing media.

Additionally, a purge initiated by Musk in Twitter it put more than half of its 7,500 employees out of work, and now many of them are taking the tycoon, also head of space company SpaceX, to court.

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