Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Elon Musk banned another journalist over the weekend – after bringing some reporters back to the platform after their accounts were suspended by a Twitter poll to decide their fate.
The newest: Taylor Lorenz of The Washington Post, a technology and online culture columnist, said she learned Saturday afternoon that her Twitter account was “suspended,” she wrote on her substack.
- Lorenz and Drew Harwell, another Washington Post tech reporter, were researching an article Musk was involved with. In an attempt to contact him, Lorenz tweeted Saturday asking for an interview, she wrote.
- Later that day, when she checked to see if a response had been received, she received a notification that her account had been suspended.
The big picture: Musk has repeatedly said he supports freedom of expression and intends to use Twitter to promote it, writes Axios’ Sara Fischer. However, he has been inconsistent with content moderation decisions.
Game Status: musk asked Thursday evening whether the “accounts that have been doxxing my precise location in real time” should be unbanned from Twitter.
- It was a reference to a number of prominent journalists being kicked off Twitter Thursday night, Axios reports.
- The poll, which had more than 3.6 million votes, showed a majority of voters (58.7%) wanted accounts restored “now.”
- “The people have spoken” Musk tweeted.
Flashback: Musk’s comments about his location stemmed from the controversy earlier this week when the account actively tracking Musk’s private jet was banned from the platform.
Driving the news: Musk on Saturday – after rehiring some journalists on the platform – blasted the “corporate media” on his account, Write: “They give up even the appearance of noble principles in their eagerness to maintain their monopoly on information seen by the public.”
- Musk, too, in a separate Twitter reply said: “They think they are better than everyone else.”
Remarkable: A Twitter poll similarly helped Musk decide whether or not former President Trump should return to Twitter.
- In late November, Musk reinstated Trump’s Twitter account after a poll by Musk found millions of accounts (52% out of 15 million total votes) wanted him back on the platform, Axios reports.
- Trump said he has no plans to return to Twitter and will remain on his own social media platform, Truth Social.
More from Axios:
Elon Musk’s Twitter Suspends Several Journalists’ Accounts Without Notice
Twitter press bans become a media focus
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional details and a new caption.