Twitter reinstated the accounts of several prominent journalists following an uproar over the seemingly arbitrary ban of reporters who had upset the social media network’s CEO Elon Musk.
The unbanning came on Saturday after the accounts of several U.S. journalists were suspended following tweets about @ElonJet, an account that tracks Musk’s private jet. Others had recently tweeted critically about the CEO, who since taking over has gutted the social media network’s staff, reinstated accounts such as former U.S. President Donald Trump and caused many Twitter users to move to rival social media accounts.
The ban had caused consternation among European politicians, with many questioning the actions of the self-proclaimed free speech advocate Musk.
Relying on Twitter polls, Musk asked his followers on December 16 if he should “unsuspend accounts who doxxed my exact location in real-time.” The first poll’s results showed a plurality — 43 percent — favored an immediate lift of the suspension but Musk said that there were “too many options” and he would redo the poll. His second poll saw 58.7 percent favor an immediate lift of the suspensions, with 41.3 percent wanting it in seven days.
“The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now,” Musk tweeted. Doxxing refers to publicly revealing personal information about someone, which can be done with malicious intent.
Since Musk’s takeover, there is rising concern that Twitter will be unable to keep up with the European Commission’s so-called code of practice on disinformation, which kicked in on Friday.
