X, formerly known as Twitter, has reportedly temporarily banned the accounts of eight journalists.
Among the affected accounts were those of Steven Monacelli, a reporter for the Texas Observer, Rob Rousseau, a podcaster, Ken Klippenstein, a journalist for the Intercept, and TrueAnon, a popular political podcast, as shared by Independent.
“I can’t think of anything I’ve posted lately that would be worthy of suspension. Although I have written multiple critical reports about Twitter/X and Elon Musk in recent months, said Monacelli in a statement given to Gizmodo. “Yes, I have made posts critical of Israel’s targeting of civilians and journalists, and have shared news about pro-Palestinian protests, but I have also recently made posts and shared news debunking antisemitism disguised as criticism of Israel.”
Other accounts that were suspended included Alan MacLeod of Mint Press News, Liam Nissan, a parody account, and Ryan Shead and zei_squirrel, both known for their criticism of Israel, were also temporarily banned.
We do sweeps for spam/scam accounts and sometimes real accounts get caught up in them
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2024
According to X owner Elon Musk, the platform does “sweeps” for spam and scam accounts, and “sometimes real accounts get caught up in them.”
This isn’t the first time X has banned journalists. Musk’s X has banned people in the past for being critical of him, especially those who were posting links to ElonJet on other platforms. ElonJet, which was run by @jxckSweeney, shared publicly available information about which airports Musk’s private jet flew to.
Musk defended the bans, alleging that the journalists had violated X’s rules by “doxxing” and revealing private information about him, even though there was no evidence of such behaviour.
Elon Musk shows off free speech commitment by banning journalists
Some of the accounts that were banned have been reinstated, though, according to Independent, Juniper, a meme account, has remained banned.
You can read the complete Independent report here.
Via: Independent, Gizmodo
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