Several journalists Twitter accounts that were suspended for a day due to a dispute over releasing open information on the billionaire’s plane have been reinstated by Elon Musk.
The extraordinary bans on Friday drew sharp criticism from government representatives, advocacy groups, and journalistic organizations from around the world.
Some said that the microblogging platform was endangering press freedom. The reinstatements followed those suspensions.
Musk later ran a Twitter survey, which revealed that the majority of the participants desired the accounts to be promptly restored.
“The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now,” Musk said in a tweet on Saturday.
The people have spoken.
Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now. https://t.co/MFdXbEQFCe
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2022
A request for comment from Reuters did not receive a response right away from Twitter.
After being suspended, the accounts of journalists from the New York Times, CNN, and the Washington Post were found to have been restored.
The suspensions were earlier denounced by EU representatives from France, Germany, Britain, and the United Kingdom.
Critics view the incident—dubbed the “Thursday Night Massacre” by one prominent security researcher—as new proof that Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” silences users and speech he finds offensive.
Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer run by Musk, had its stock decline 4.7% on Friday and post its worst weekly loss since March 2020 as investors grew more concerned about his propensity for distraction and the deteriorating global economy.
The French minister of industry, Roland Lescure, stated on Friday that he would stop using Twitter after Elon Musk suspended journalists.
The suspensions left Melissa Fleming, the head of communications for the UN, “very upset,” and she tweeted that “media freedom is not a toy.”
Twitter received a warning from the German Foreign Office that the ministry had a concern with actions that threatened press freedom.
The suspensions left Melissa Fleming, the head of communications for the UN, “very upset,” and she tweeted that “media freedom is not a toy.”
Twitter received a warning from the German Foreign Office that the ministry had a concern with actions that threatened press freedom.
To read our blog on “EU has threatened to ban Twitter after Musk banned journalists who criticized him,” click here.
