Aaron Rupar is a freelance journalist who is very active on the internet. It is based in Washington and is followed by nearly 800,000 people on Twitter. It is a benchmark for anyone interested in US politics and the growth of far-right movements in the country that Donald Trump rose to power. His account disappeared this Thursday afternoon. He wasn’t the only one. Six other journalists from media outlets including CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post have been removed from Twitter in the past few hours. The common denominator of all? They were liberal and had recently written about Elon Musk, the mogul whose management of the social network is increasingly being questioned. The gesture has worried organizations that watch over freedom of expression.
Rupar received messages from acquaintances telling him that his account was gone. “At first I thought they were fooling me,” the journalist wrote on his Substack account, a newsletter subscription platform. “I have no idea what rules I allegedly broke,” he added. He acknowledges that on Wednesday, among the content he offered his audience was a text by Noah Berlatsky analyzing the reactionary populism Musk has championed since taking the helm of Twitter. The company had not explained the reason for the blocking as of Thursday afternoon.
Berlatsky’s text began with Musk’s embarrassing moment in San Francisco on Sunday. The mogul took the stage during a monologue from comedian Dave Chappelle, who invited him. But the Tesla and SpaceX businessman couldn’t finish speaking before the loud boos he received in the arena. “The big question is: Why do Chappelle and Musk think anyone would want to applaud the richest man in the world?” Berlatsky wrote. For now, it remains a warning that Rupar saw his account disappear without warning.
In the midst of the controversy, Elon Musk launched a user poll from his account that was only active for 30 minutes. “Unban accounts that have doxxed [revelan información personal en línea] my exact location in real time,” read the query, similar to the one Donald Trump opened the doors to Twitter. 43% voted to immediately return access to journalists. “If someone released reporters’ locations and addresses in real time, the FBI would determine there were special sessions in the Capitol and Biden would be talking about the end of democracy,” added the businessman, whose net worth is around $174,000 million.
Minutes after completing the poll, the businessman entered a Space, an audio chat on Twitter. The conversation was moderated by Katie Notopoulos, a technology reporter for Buzzfeed. “In the future there will be no difference between journalists or those who call themselves journalists… Everyone will be treated equally. They are not special because they are journalists, they are citizens like everyone else. Sharing locations will get you banned. End of story,” Musk said, exiting the chat as some reporters began asking him questions.
Among those affected was Ryan Mac, the Los Angeles-based technology reporter for The New York Times. His most recent story comes from Wednesday, when he shared how 25 accounts that tracked several millionaires’ private planes disappeared from Twitter. Among them was Elon Musk. The @ElonJet account followed his jet to the delight of half a million followers. Behind the user was Jack Sweeney, a 20-year-old boy who fed his feed with public information. After buying Twitter in late October, Musk posted the following message: “My commitment to freedom of expression is such that I will not suspend the account that follows my plane, even if it poses a risk to my safety.” Sweeney’s personal account became also deleted.
Journalist Rupar rehearses an explanation. The punishment perhaps came when he announced that ElonJet was still active on Facebook. “Maybe it was, but I still don’t know what policy that might have violated.”
After removing these accounts, Twitter changed its policy and prohibited its users from sharing another person’s real-time location without their consent. Several of the journalists suspended this Thursday analyzed this change in the rules of the platform. “Bashing at me all day is fine, but sharing my family’s location and putting them at risk is not,” Musk tweeted Thursday.
Mac reappeared on the @macSilenced account this afternoon, where he made the same statements as Rupar. He was suspended without warning. He did not receive an email explaining the reason for the punishment. “I write and will continue to write about Elon Musk and his companies,” the reporter said in the report.
Sally Buzbee, editor of The Washington Post, said the act of censorship “directly undermines Musk’s promise to operate Twitter as a platform for free speech.” Buzbee issued a statement calling for his technology reporter Drew Harwell to return to his platform immediately.
Mashable’s Matt Binder, who was suspended, denied in an email to the AP that he ever revealed anyone’s location or personal information. “I also didn’t share any links to ElonJet or tracking accounts. I’ve been very critical of Musk, but I’ve never violated Twitter’s policies,” adds the journalist.
Donie O’Sullivan, who follows far-right movements (and had more than 280,000 followers), was also removed from the network: “The impulsive and unjustified suspension of several reporters is worrying but not surprising,” he said in a CNN Explanation. “The growing instability and volatility should be an incredible concern for every user of the platform,” continues the chain, which will assess its relationship with the technology following these suspensions.
Steve Herman, the national correspondent for the Voice of America, an official agency of the United States government, has also been suspended from the @w7VOA account. A country had previously excluded a correspondent of this medium from the networks: China. Russia had also blocked access to the news site.
Perhaps one of the most famous profiles penalized is that of Keith Olberman, a sportswriter who successfully transitioned to news anchor for MSNBC from 2003 to 2012. Olbermann is known for his highly critical and progressive views of ex-President Trump and the far-right movements that protected the Republican president. Last August, he launched a popular podcast where he discussed American political issues.
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