- Elon Musk wants to unban several journalists from Twitter.
- The head of the short message service gives the results of a Twitter poll as the reason for the change in opinion.
- Allegedly, 58.7 percent of the participants there spoke out in favor of an immediate activation of the accounts.
Legend:
What are Elon Musk’s plans? His management strategy at Twitter often seems opaque.
Reuters/FW1F/Nicholas ZIEMINSKI
‘People have spoken. The accounts that leaked my location will now be unblocked,” Musk tweeted on Saturday morning Central European Time.
On Thursday, Musk accused the banned journalists of having engaged in so-called “doxing” – that is, of having collected data about him on the Internet and then published it.
The bone of contention: the naming of his private jet location
It was explicitly about part of their reporting, which, according to Musk, made the real-time location of his private jet public. Such behavior endangers the safety of his family, Musk said.
The banned media workers included Ryan Mac from the “New York Times” and CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan. Both media houses reacted sharply to the blocking of their reporters. Freelance journalists were also no longer allowed to tweet.
Concern about freedom of the press
Dissatisfaction was also voiced immediately outside of the media industry. For example, the EU Commission and the German government criticized Elon Musk’s actions and said they were considering the consequences out of concerns about press freedom.
Criticism also came from the governments of France and Great Britain, as well as from the United Nations. UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said: “In our view, the move sets a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists around the world are being subjected to censorship, physical threats and worse.”