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Without a clear explanation, Twitter began suspending the accounts of several journalists Thursday evening, including reporters from CNN, the Washington Post, Mashable, and the New York Times.
If the accounts had one thing in common, they were primarily journalists who covered tech and frequently reported on Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk. Jason Kint of Digital Content Next, a trade association representing digital media companies, made a public list of the suspended accounts available here. It includes the following:
- Independent journalist Aaron Rupar
- CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan
- Drew Harwell, of the Washington Post
- Former MSNBC host and pundit Keith Olbermann
- Mashable’s Matt Binder
- Micah Lee of The Intercept
- Ryan Mac, New York Times
- Independent journalist Tony Webster
Elon Musk appeared to explain the suspensions in a pair of tweets.
Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022
Musk was referencing, in part, the suspended journalists reporting on Twitter suspending @elonjet, the account of the college student who tracked the comings and goings of the billionaire’s private jet. The Tesla CEO later tweeted the following:
I love Barbara Streisand lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022
In the second tweet, Musk alluded to what’s known as “The Streisand Effect,” named after singer Barbra Streisand, who in 2003 attempted to suppress photographs of her home by suing the photographer. The lawsuit drew widespread attention to the photos. As a result, they were viewed by far more people than they would have been if the suit had not been filed. The Streisand Effect happens when attempts to suppress information have the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely.
The Streisand Effect demonstrates two things pertinent to Musk’s fame: the power of the internet to disseminate information and how hard it can be to control the spread of information once it is released.
It appears that many of these journalists had recently tweeted the ElonJet mastodon link as part of their reporting on Musk, and were banned as a result. @micahflee was banned after posting this tweet: pic.twitter.com/ZIWm2aRFQY
— Mel Buer (@mel_buer) December 16, 2022
Twitter has also suspended the official account of rival social media platform Mastodon after it tweeted that the @Elonjet account was still available there.
However, as of late Thursday, the Twitter accounts of rivals Facebook, Tribel Social, and Tumblr owner Automattic, as well as upstart Post.News — which has yet to tweet — were still active.
