Several prominent journalists were booted from Twitter on Thursday, with new company head Elon Musk tying their removals to claims of doxxing, which is a word for publishing an individual’s private information. It’s unclear, however, that any of these figures did much if anything more than basic reporting. None of the prominently suspended journalists personally uncovered private info and posted it, as best can be told with their accounts down.
The idea is that Musk himself was somehow the target. “News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying,” Věra Jourová, a European Union official, said Friday as concern spread. “EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our #MediaFreedomAct. @elonmusk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.” The official responsible for raising that specter of sanctions is the Vice-President for Values and Transparency at the European Commission, an arm of E.U. governance. Jourová’s comments follow scrutiny of Musk from multiple U.S. Senators over issues including the involvement of a Saudi royal’s money in top investments into Twitter and the prior ease with which users could create verified accounts in the names of real-world government officials, potentially seriously impacting the security policy landscape depending on what was posted.
News about arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is worrying. EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our #MediaFreedomAct. @elonmusk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.
— Věra Jourová (@VeraJourova) December 16, 2022
“They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service,” Musk claimed in a discussion of the suspended journalists, although there’s just no clear indication his description is accurate. Some have focused on a recently suspended Twitter profile tracking where Musk flew on his jet, but it’s unclear that all those suspended even directly reported on it.
According to screenshots, the last post on the platform from Donie O’Sullivan of CNN — who was among those suspended — was apparently about statements from local police regarding an incident involving an individual who confronted a vehicle allegedly carrying one of Musk’s children — something an investigation suggests happened nowhere reasonably near an airport, undercutting the idea someone was using data on where Musk’s plane was going to target him. (Separately, O’Sullivan also did straightforward reporting on the flight tracking.) It’s also relevant here that reporting on where public figures are going is relatively common. Schedules for the president’s activities are routinely very widely distributed, although that obviously doesn’t get into extremely granular detail — but neither did the account tracking where Elon’s plane was heading.
Bellingcat Discord member Sepulco geolocated the video Elon Musk posted overnight, claiming to show a stalker, which he used to justify the banning of accounts that tracked flights. It's at 34.116175,-118.160635, not close to any airports.https://t.co/H4ibUozDKV pic.twitter.com/lNvvOKmvC4
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) December 15, 2022
