Elon Musk defended his decision to ban a number of journalists from Twitter Thursday night, arguing they made posts which directly opened up threats to his life.
The billionaire said that by tweeting links to an account which tracks the movements of his private jet, they were posting 'assassination coordinates,' and violating Twitter's terms of service.
Journalists Ryan Mac of the New York Times, Drew Harwell of The Washington Post, Donie O'Sullivan of CNN, Matt Binder of Mashable, Michah lee of The Intercept, along with Aaron Rupar, Tony Webster, and Keith Olberman, all found their Twitter accounts suspended on Thursday.
Following the suspensions, CNN posted a statement saying it had asked Twitter to explain, and that it would 'reevaluate our relationship based on that response.'
A number of journalists who have been covering Elon Musk and Twitter were banned from the social media company on Thursday
Journalists Keith Olberman (left) and Aaron Rupar (right) were among numerous suspended from Twitter on Thursday
Some of the journalists appear to have been suspended for Tweeting links to the social media platform Mastadon - a Twitter alternative - where an account which tracked Musk's private jet with public information migrated after it was banned from Twitter yesterday.
Mastadon's Twitter account was Banned yesterday, which Harwell pointed out in a tweet linking to the account. His account was suspended some time after.
After Harwell was suspended, Olbermann Tweeted about what had happened, and posted a link to Mastadon while imploring other others to do the same.
It remains unclear whether the other reporters Tweeted about Mastadon, or the jet tracking service, @ElonJet.
Musk took to Twitter Thursday night to accuse the suspended journalists of doxxing him - the act of revealing identifying personal information online.
'They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service,' he wrote.
'Same doxxing rules apply to “journalists” as to everyone else,' he added, and noted that the suspension would last seven days.
Ryan Mac (left) of the New York Times was banned from Twitter Thursday, as was Drew Harwell (middle) of the Washington Post, and Donie O'Sullivan of CNN
Musk's crusade against doxxing and @ElonJet was ignited this week after he claimed a stalker jumped on the hood of a car carrying his son.
Explaining the ordeal, Musk said: 'Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood.'
'Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family,' he added, referring to @ElonJet creator Jack Sweeney.
It is unclear how Musk connected @ElonJet to the stalking incident, which did not appear to involve his private plane in any way.
As outrage about the suspensions swirled on Twitter Thursday night, Musk joined the fray with his own deluge of comments, which included a poll asking users when he should reinstate the banned journalist's tweets, a tirade about how President Biden would react if journalists' were doxxed, and a decalration of his love for Barbara Streisand.
'If anyone posted real-time locations & addresses of NYT reporters, FBI would be investigating, there’d be hearings on Capitol Hill & Biden would give speeches about end of democracy!' he wrote.
He added a poll titled 'Unsuspend accounts who doxxed my exact location in real-time,' with the options 'Now,' 'Tomorrow,' '7 Days from now,' 'Longer.'
When the poll came back with a 43 percent majority calling for 'Now,' Musk replied that he would redo it because he'd provided too many options.
Musk's November tweet in which he said he would not ban @elonjet. Users flagged the tweet, and added that Musk had now gone against his word
CNN spoke out against the suspension of O'Sullivan in a statement posted to Twitter.
'The unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising,' the outlet wrote. 'Twitter's increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses the platform.'
'We have asked Twitter for an explanation, and will reevabluate our relationship based on that response.'
The New York Times said Mac Twitter gave him no explanation about his suspension, according to NBC News.
'We hope that all of the journalists' accounts are reinstated and that Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action,' the Times told the outlet.
Rupar said he had 'no idea' why he was suspended, according to NBC journalist Ben Collins.
Each of the other journalists banned had recently been covering Musk.
A spokesperson for Twitter told The Verge they wouldn't comment on specific suspensions, but added any users putting others at risk would be banned.
'Without commenting on any specific accounts, I can confirm that we will suspend any accounts that violate our privacy policies and put other users at risk,' the Spokesperson said.
The @elonjet Twitter account suspended. Musk previous said he would not ban it
Billionaire Elon Musk posted a clip showing the identity of the 'crazy stalker' who followed the car that his son X was traveling in. The Twitter CEO said that the man, who is seen wearing a black mask and hood, blocked the car's path before jumping on the hood. Musk believes that the stalker thought Elon himself was traveling in the car at the time
Last night Musk CEO posted a video of the man who he said was the stalker.
In the short video, the suspect was seen wearing a black hood and driving a white Hyundai - before picking up his phone to record the encounter himself.
The video, believed to be filmed by Musk's driver, then panned towards the car's license plate. There was a short exchange with the alleged stalker - where the driver seemed to utter: 'Got it.'
When one horrified Twitter follower asked if this was the man who jumped on the hood of the car, billionaire Musk confirmed and said: 'Yeah.'
Jack Sweeney started @ElonJet in 2020 because he was a fan of Musk and wanted to see how he managed his businesses
The @ElonJet Twitter account suspended. Musk previous said he would not ban it
He elaborated on the rationale for the decision to ban @ElonJet, saying that accounts which published where people were located in 'real-time' were a 'physical safety violation.'
'Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation.'
'This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn't a safety problem, so is ok.'
Sweeney's jet account was suspended Wednesday morning. He tweeted at Musk asking how long of a delay was necessary for there to be no safety response, and then by Wednesday evening the account - and his personal account - were suspended again.
Musk has previously gone after @elonjet, which Sweeney set up in 2020 when he was 19 because he was a super-fan of the billionaire and wanted to see how he managed his businesses.
In 2021, Musk offered Sweeney, 20, $5,000 to take down the account, which he saw as a risk to his safety.
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