In the wake of seeing one of its reporters being suspended late lat week, CNN claimed it will be attempting to “reevaluate” its current relationship with Twitter based on the reasoning made public for the banning of the reporter.
The statement was made public after CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan was slammed with a suspension, like quite a few members of the legacy media, as Twitter pushed through a crackdown on those who track the location of private jets, including one owned by CEO Elon Musk himself.
“The impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising,” stated the communications team for CNN in their own release.
“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 we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response,” explained the release.
Statement on tonight's suspension of CNN's @donie O'Sullivan: pic.twitter.com/TQGsysxvpf
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) December 16, 2022
A number of other reporters, who have historically covered everything Musk, were also issued suspensions this past Thursday, including a number of reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Intercept.
Twitter has not chosen to issue its own public statement regarding any accounts in particular as of writing. “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,” explained the head of trust and safety for Twitter, Ella Irwin, to The Verge.
Musk issued a few social media posts stating that anyone who has taken part in doxxing will be slammed with suspensions.
“Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else,” he stated in a post. “They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service,” he stated in another.
They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022
Wednesday of last week, Twitter posted an update to its private information policy and issued a suspension to an account that utilized publically available data on flights to track the private jet used by Elon Musk, and Musk stated in a post that a “crazy stalker” attacked a vehicle in Los Angeles that had been ferrying one of his young kids.
O’Sullivan was hit with a suspension in the wake of posting a tweet about this claim, as highlighted in a number of screenshots put out by The Washington Post.
“Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not,” Musk stated in a Thursday post.
Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022
