Twitter: Elon Musk kicks critical journalists off the platform

After Elon Musk has consistently rumored a new era of freedom of expression since the Twitter takeover at the end of October 2022, the new Twitter CEO is now beginning to exclude critical voices and the competition. The German Foreign Office is also on the scene: They now have “a problem” with Twitter.

Musk contradicts his own announcements

Long before Twitter's $44 billion purchase, Musk said the takeover's supposed goal was to ensure the protection of freedom of expression, which he saw threatened by the previous — since fired — leadership team. This often invoked “freedom of speech” is now officially giving way to a targeted ban on critical voices. First up was the @ElonJet Twitter account, which tracked Musk's private jet flights. At the beginning of November, the new CEO said: his commitment to freedom of expression goes so far that he does not block the account, even though it poses a personal security risk.

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My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022

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However, observers noticed last Wednesday: @ElonJet's Twitter account was blocked – as were the accounts of some users who pointed out this blocking and Musk's previous lies on Twitter. In addition, all Twitter users are prohibited from posting tweets linking to @ElonJet's Instagram presence. The reason: The link had been identified by Twitter as “potentially dangerous”. The editors would like to embed the tweets of those users who point out this fact in the message below – but they were all deleted and the accounts blocked.

Twitter blocks out critical journalists

Today, Friday, Elon Musk expanded these restrictions on press freedom on Twitter with several more account bans. These are aimed in particular at prominent journalists in the USA who have previously reported critically about Elon Musk and Twitter. Among others, journalists from the news channel CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post are affected. Musk, in turn, tries to justify the suspensions by saying that the users in question published personal data without the consent of those affected.

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Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022

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CNN subsequently said in a statement that such an “impulsive and unjustified ban on numerous journalists” was worrying but not surprising. The New York Times describes the events as “questionable and regrettable”. It is often pointed out that the vast majority of the blocked accounts would not have shared any accurate location data, let alone systematically or in real time.

The same applies to the Twitter account of the competing microblogging service Mastodon – @joinmastodon. However, the now-suspended user account previously shared a link to @ElonJet's Mastodon account – and that alone is apparently now enough for an immediate suspension without any warning. The federal government now also has “a problem” with such practices. The Twitter account of the Federal Foreign Office makes it clear that freedom of the press should not be “switched on and off at will”.