Elon Musk has made clearer his plan to restore “freedom of speech” to Twitter by suspending the accounts of well-known journalists who have criticized him in recent hours. The list includes reporters from the New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN.
The reason for the suspension of these accounts was not immediately disclosed, but all the suspended journalists have written in recent months about the owner of Twitter and the negative changes he has seen in the platform since he bought it.
Facing the backlash, Musk later justified the suspensions by citing Twitter’s new doxxing (data disclosure) rules. He said reporters were sharing a bot that pinpointed the whereabouts of his plane.
On Thursday (12/15), Twitter suspended the account that tracked Musk’s private jet in real time, a month after the billionaire said his commitment to free speech extended to not banning that account.
The new punishments come shortly after Twitter suspended the account of a user who released a video of boos at Musk during his surprise appearance at a comedy show on Sunday (12/18).
Instead, Musk used the speech of uncompromising defense of freedom of expression to restore accounts of extremists deleted for threats to public order and incitement to hatred, such as former US president Donald Trump and singer Kanye West, who celebrated his second chance by posting a Nazi swastika on Twitter. The billionaire also banned tagging posts with misinformation, including ones that could harm people, such as those spreading lies about covid-19.
This line suggesting fascist behavior was condemned by most of the US press this Friday (16/12), with CNN threatening to boycott the social network. But the criticisms have not come only from journalists.
The vice president of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, classified the tycoon’s decisions as “worrying”, and recalled in a tweet that there are “red lines” that cannot be crossed. He went further: he threatened Musk “with sanctions, soon”.
He was echoed by the German Foreign Ministry, which tweeted: “Freedom of the press shouldn’t be turned on and off at will. That’s why we have a problem with Twitter.”
French Minister for Digital Transition Jean-Noël Barrot added that he was “distressed by the turn Elon Musk is plunging Twitter into”. “Freedom of the press is at the very basis of democracy, it’s an attack on each other,” he defended.
The sanctions in the European Union could generate enormous damage for Musk and extend to other companies of the tycoon, who is negotiating trade agreements with several countries for his Space X space program.
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Source: Terra
Amanda Larkin is a celebrity journalist at Gossipify, known for her in-depth interviews and unique perspectives on the entertainment industry. She covers celebrity news and gossip, providing readers with engaging and informative content, and understanding of the inner workings of the industry. She’s respected for keeping readers up to date with the latest trends and providing a fresh perspective on the celebrity world.
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