SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter on Thursday suspended the accounts of about six prominent journalists, the latest change by the social media service under new owner, Elon Musk.
The suspended accounts included Ryan Mac of The New York Times; Drew Harwell of The Washington Post; Aaron Rupar, an independent journalist; CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan; Mashable’s Matt Binder; Tony Webster, an independent journalist; Micah Lee of The Intercept; and the political journalist Keith Olbermann. It was unclear what the suspensions had in common; each user’s Twitter page contained a message stating that it had suspended accounts that “violate Twitter Rules”.
The move came a day after Twitter suspended more than 25 accounts tracking the planes of government agencies, billionaires and high-profile individuals, including Mr. Musk. Many of the accounts were operated by Jack Sweeney, a 20-year-old college student and flight tracking enthusiast who had used Twitter to post updates on the location of Mr. Musk’s private plane using publicly available information.
Last month, Mr. Musk said he would allow the account following his private jet to remain on Twitter, though he said it posed a security risk. “My commitment to freedom of expression even extends to not banning the account that tracks my plane, even if that is a direct personal security risk,” he said in a tweet at the time.
But he changed his mind this week after claiming that a car one of his sons was driving had been accosted by a “mad stalker.” On Wednesday, Mr. Musk tweeted that any account that has “posted someone’s real-time location information will be suspended, as it is a physical security violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location information.”
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Some journalists whose accounts were suspended had written about or tweeted about the accounts following the private jets. Some have also written articles critical of Mr Musk and his ownership of Twitter. Many of them had tens of thousands of followers on the platform.
Mr Musk did not respond to a request for comment and Twitter did not respond to an email requesting comment. In a tweet, Mr Musk said Twitter’s rules on “doxxing” – which refers to sharing someone’s personal documents, including information such as their address – “apply to ‘journalists’ and everyone else.” He did not elaborate further.
“Tonight’s suspension of the Twitter accounts of a number of prominent journalists, including Ryan Mac of The New York Times, is questionable and unfortunate,” said Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for The Times. “Neither The Times nor Ryan have been given any explanation as to why this happened. We hope that all accounts of the journalists will be reinstated and that Twitter will provide a satisfactory explanation for this action.”
A representative for The Post did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kristine Coratti Kelly, a CNN spokeswoman, said the suspensions were “worrying but not surprising” and that “Twitter’s increasing instability and volatility should be an incredible concern for anyone using it.” In an appearance on CNN after his account was suspended, Mr O’Sullivan said Twitter’s actions could intimidate journalists covering companies owned by Mr Musk.
“I was disappointed to see myself suspended from Twitter without explanation,” said Mr. Webster, whose account was suspended, in an email response. He added that he had tweeted about the Twitter account that followed Mr Musk’s private jet before he was suspended.
Mr Binder, the Mashable journalist, said he had criticized Mr Musk but had not violated any of Twitter’s stated policies.
After his suspension from Twitter, Mr. Sweeney turned to Mastodon, an alternative social network. After Mastodon used Twitter to promote Mr. Sweeney’s new account on Thursday, Twitter suspended Mastodon’s account. When some journalists shared the news of Mastodon’s suspension, their own accounts were suspended.
Mr Musk, who bought Twitter in October for $44 billion, had said his acquisition would expand free speech on the platform and allow more people to participate in the public conversation. In recent weeks, he allowed some banned users to return to the platform, including former President Donald J. Trump, who was banned from his account following the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riots.
Mr Musk said in October he would form a council to advise him on policy issues before making any changes to the company’s content moderation policy. The council has not come. This week Mr. Musk founded a trust and safety advisory group that had guided Twitter through thorny issues such as child harassment and exploitation.
“I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter because that’s what free speech means,” Musk tweeted in April, shortly after announcing his intention to buy the company.
