After heavy criticism
Twitter boss Musk wants to reactivate blocked journalist accounts
Twitter boss Elon Musk had accused journalists of having provided the “coordinates for an assassination attempt” against him and his family
© Susan Walsh/AP/DPA
Twitter had blocked the accounts of several prominent journalists who had covered Elon Musk. Now the head of the short message service is backing down.
After strong headwinds, Twitter boss Elon Musk has announced that several journalists’ Twitter accounts will be released again. “The people have spoken. The accounts that have given away my location will be unbanned,” Musk wrote on Friday evening US West Coast time in the short message service, referring to the result of a poll he had previously initiated. Musk has previously been heavily criticized by EU officials and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, among others, after he blocked the accounts of more than half a dozen prominent journalists from the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN.
After the accounts were blocked, Musk launched a Twitter poll asking if he should restore them now or in a week. Almost 59 percent of the 3.69 million participants agreed that Musk should restore the accounts now.
The Twitter boss had accused the account owners of endangering his family’s safety. Musk initially blocked the user account @ElonJet on Wednesday, on which a young US student documented the flights of Musk’s private jet. Several journalists who were later blocked had reported on the affair – and in doing so partially linked the blocked account @ElonJet (Read more about this here). Musk then blocked the accounts of several journalists on Thursday.
Elon Musk throws Twitter into chaos
According to a spokesman, UN Secretary-General António Guterres was “very disturbed” by the “arbitrary” step. This creates a “dangerous precedent”. EU Vice-President Vera Jourova said on Twitter that the news about the “arbitrary suspension of journalists” was “worrying”.
The multi-billionaire accused the journalists of having provided the “coordinates for an assassination attempt” against him and his family. Musk also explained that the blocking was necessary after a car with one of his children in the US metropolis of Los Angeles was pursued by a “crazy stalker”. Musk did not provide any evidence for his claims.
Musk has wreaked havoc on Twitter since the $44 billion acquisition. He fired top management and around half the workforce and unlocked suspended accounts like that of former US President Donald Trump. Critics fear that under Musk’s leadership, hate speech and misinformation could skyrocket on Twitter.