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Elon Musk Accused Of ‘Silencing His Critics’ As X Suspends Journalists [1]

['Mark Joyella', 'Senior Contributor']

Date: 2024-01-09

The new Twitter logo, rebranded as X, is being displayed on a screen alongside Elon Musk in this ... [+] photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on November 27, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, suspended a number of high-profile journalists Tuesday, including Steven Zetti of the Texas Observer and Ken Klippenstein of the Intercept. The pages for each of the suspended accounts offers no explanation for their removal and does not say if the suspensions are temporary or permanent bans. Each page carries a short message that “X suspends accounts which violate the X rules.”

“I haven't received any communications from Twitter/X about why I have been suspended,” Monacelli, who has 72,000 followers on X, told Motherboard. “I can't think of anything I've posted lately that would be worthy of suspensions. Although I have written multiple critical reports about Twitter/X and Elon Musk.” Klippenstein, who has more than 497,000 followers on X, recently reported on Musk in a story headlined “Elon Musk Discussed AI With Israeli Military as It Uses AI to Bomb Gaza.”

ROME, ITALY - DECEMBER 15: Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc and X (formerly Twitter) ... [+] Ceo speaks at the Atreju political convention organized by Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy), on December 15, 2023 in Rome, Italy. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing political party organised a four-day political festival in the Italian capital. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images) Getty Images

Kendra Barnett, senior reporter at The Drum, pointed a finger directly at Musk, saying in a post on X that “Elon Musk is silencing his critics on X again, including The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein & Texas Observer's Steven Monacelli. It’s another ironic move from the billionaire, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist.”

“If you are one of those people who actually believe that Elon Musk is a principled champion of free speech, then you maybe one of the dumbest people to have ever walked the earth,” said former MSNBC host Medhi Hasan on X, one of several high-profile journalists taking to the platform to accuse Musk of censorship.

Shortly after former CNN host Don Lemon announced that he would launch The Don Lemon Show on X, calling it “the biggest space for free spech in the world,” former MSNBC prime time host Keith Olbermann reacted with a profanity-laden message directed at Lemon, saying “on the same day @elonMusk suspended half a dozen journalists including Ken Klippenstein without explanation?...You're working for the enemies of free speech.”

By Tuesday afternoon, Klippenstein and Monacelli reported that their accounts had been reinstated—though without any explanation from X for the suspensions:

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[1] Url: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2024/01/09/elon-musk-silencing-his-critics-as-journalists-are-suspended-by-x/

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