Twitter begins reactivating some journalists' accounts, after 58.7% of participants in Elon Musk's poll voted to lift the suspension “now”, beating “in 7 days”

(The journalists did not reveal his real-time location.) Out of the two poll options, “now” …

The Verge 2022-12-17 Mitchell Clark

Context & Ripple Effects

Twitter had already used Elon Musk’s polls to reinstate Trump and to set a broader account-restoration policy for users not accused of breaking the law or engaging in egregious spam. The journalists’ reinstatements extend that poll-led return of Trump and the subsequent large-scale account restoration to a politically sensitive set of accounts.

First-order effects

Some suspended journalists regain access immediately, while Twitter implements the poll’s “now” outcome rather than the delayed alternative.
Elon Musk again makes a user poll the operative mechanism for a consequential Twitter suspension decision.

Second-order effects

Other suspended users gain a recent precedent for seeking reinstatement through public polling, following Twitter’s broader restoration of accounts with substantial followings.
Journalists and publishers face a platform-access policy whose outcome has been set case by case through Musk’s polls rather than the previously stated general-amnesty criteria.

Third-order effects

If Twitter continues using polls for individual moderation reversals, account enforcement shifts toward leader-directed, public votes rather than durable, consistently applied rules.
The sequence points to a broader restructuring of Twitter’s moderation governance around reinstatement and free-expression decisions made in public.

The trend: Twitter is moving from conventional account-enforcement rules toward poll-driven reversals directed by Elon Musk.

Discussion

Engadget Mariella Moon on mastodon
Twitter reinstates accounts of suspended journalists and Mastodon
HackRead Habiba Rashid on mastodon
Mastodon Account Suspended from Twitter Following Ban on Server Links
Fossbytes Abhishek Mishra on mastodon
Musk Conducts Poll After Suspending Mastodon, Journalists' Twitter Accounts
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Unsuspend accounts who doxxed my exact location in real-time
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now. https://twitter.com/...
@marcowenjones Marc Owen Jones on x
Fact Check. No doxxing took place. https://twitter.com/...
@profhelenward Helen Ward on x
It's like having a toddler in charge https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@moltke Henrik Moltke on x
Some of these accounts have been reinstated, some have not. https://twitter.com/...
@drewharwell@mastodon.social Drew Harwell on mastodon
This is what Twitter is now defining as “doxxing people's location.”
@dangillmor@mastodon.social Dan Gillmor on mastodon
What Musk is doing at Twitter right now is clearly a demonstration of power — that is …
@caseynewton@mastodon.social Casey Newton on mastodon
(Flirting) So, what are your assassination coordinates
@rabble@mastodon.social @rabble@mastodon.social on mastodon
Widespread suspension of journalists makes twitter's demise much more likely.
@drewharwell@mastodon.social Drew Harwell on mastodon
Because Elon has continuously misrepresented this: The data used for flight-tracking accounts …
@caseynewton@mastodon.social Casey Newton on mastodon
I also love that things went from “I should probably figure out a Twitter alternative” …
@jpanzer@mastodon.social John Panzer on mastodon
https://www.techdirt.com/... Thank you @mmasnick for doing the definitive first draft of the last 48 hours.
@Popehat@mastodon.social Ken White on mastodon
Elon being Elon is familiar — so familiar that it's no longer even particularly grotesque.
@caseynewton@mastodon.social Casey Newton on mastodon
This is such an obvious point but it is so funny to me that Elon's free-speech crusade …
Vox Peter Kafka on x
Angry, irrational, erratic: This is Elon Musk's Twitter
TechSpot Rob Thubron on mastodon
Twitter suspends accounts of several journalists, blocks Mastodon following Elon Musk doxxing row
Reclaim The Net Christina Maas on mastodon
Twitter bans accounts of Mastodon, journalists that cover banning of Elon Musk flight tracker account
CNET Steven Musil on mastodon
Twitter Suspends Account Encouraging People to Join Mastodon
@bigtechalert @bigtechalert on x
👀 @elonmusk (Great person. Please do not ban this bot.) is no longer following @bariweiss
@bariweiss Bari Weiss on x
The old regime at Twitter governed by its own whims and biases and it sure looks like the new regime has the same problem. I oppose it in both cases. And I think those journalists who were reporting on a story of public importance should be reinstated.
@quinnae_moon Katherine Cross on x
The hilarious thing here is that she issued the most milquetoast criticism of Musk's banning spree, even continuing to validate the far right myth that it is *merely* an inversion of what “the left” had been doing on Twitter for years. He still turned on her. https://twitter.com/…
@davidsacks David Sacks on x
So the FAA gives Elon a new plane identifier (called ICAO) every month because of threats to his safety. But Sweeney wrote software to hack this privacy measure in order to continuously doxx him. How is this legal? https://twitter.com/...
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
So inspiring to see the newfound love of freedom of speech by the press 🥰
@steinkobbe @steinkobbe on x
Bari did a baby brain both sides are equally bad take but it wasn't enough for Musk who is now accusing her of virtue-signaling https://twitter.com/...
@parkermolloy Parker Molloy on x
Lol. Anything less than complete and total praise upsets him. Amazing. https://twitter.com/...
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
Life comes at you fast https://twitter.com/...
@tomaxwell Thomas Maxwell on x
Babe wake up the Twitter Files leakers are fighting https://twitter.com/...
@mikeelgan Mike Elgan on x
@elonmusk The guy banning journalists for doing their job implies that journalists don't support freedom of the press. Folks, Musk is lying. Again.
@iansherr Ian Sherr on x
A worthwhile read. “This is how content moderation works. There's a reason the role is called ‘Trust & Safety’ because you're trying to weigh different tradeoffs to make things trustworthy and safe. But Musk hasn't been doing that. He seems only focused on his own safety.” https:…
@charlesarthur Charles Arthur on x
Area Man Disappointed That Programmer Used Programming to Find Stuff Out From Public Data https://twitter.com/...
@robinwauters @robinwauters on x
Spare a thought for Elon apologists having to work really hard to empty their heads and come up with new ways to paint Musk as the victim again. Can't be an easy job these days. https://twitter.com/...
@jpanzer John Panzer on x
⁦@mmasnick⁩ has written a comprehensive take-down of Elon's last 48 hours and demonstrated Elon's total intellectual bankruptcy. (And ⁦@Jason⁩, this sycophancy is just embarrassing for you.) https://www.techdirt.com/...
@rvawonk Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D on x
This bot is about to be banned for real-time posting of Elon Musk's emotional state. https://twitter.com/...
@chaykak Kyle Chayka on x
“One of the richest men in history bought something many of us use and like. Because he could. And now he's going to run it based on his whims. Because he can.” @pkafka puts it plainly https://www.vox.com/...
@lessig @lessig on x
A brilliant unpacking of the insanity raging around @elonmusk. Elon Tries (Badly) To Defend The Banning Of Journalists As Twitter Starts Blocking Links & Mentions Of Mastodon | Techdirt https://www.techdirt.com/...
@mastodonmigration@mastodon.online @mastodonmigration@mastodon.online on mastodon
The surge continues. Averaging 3000 to 4000 new users per hour. Mastodon continues to run pretty smoothly.
@dangillmor@mastodon.social Dan Gillmor on mastodon
Tried to update my Twitter profile (which already says to find me here) to be clear that I'm done posting and reading there.
Fortune Nicholas Gordon on mastodon
Musk bans accounts for Mastodon, journalists in ‘doxxing’ fight over his private jet
@loisbeckett Lois Beckett on x
“There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.” Officials in Europe are warning Elon Musk that Twitter's sudden suspension of multiple US journalists who reported on Musk could have broader consequences for the platform: https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@mayemusk Maye Musk on x
@BBCWorld Do you want to clarify your headline? Let's be honest 😏 https://twitter.com/...
@mattlaslo Matt Laslo on x
The EU likes to regulate tech—well, more so protect its citizen's private data—whereas the US Congress discusses (& usually decries) regulations for a decade before doing nothing. 🍿 https://twitter.com/...
@lifesafeast Jamie Schler on x
The UN tweeted that media freedom is “not a toy” while the EU has threatened Twitter with sanctions. https://twitter.com/...
@couts@mastodon.social Andrew Couts on mastodon
Musk has no obligation to reinstate any of the journalists Twitter suspended tonight, and that's both the problem and the point.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Follow 🐰
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
@andy0___ @sama The danger of training AI to be woke - in other words, lie - is deadly
@iansherr Ian Sherr on x
Funny, something else happened around that time too. I can't quite put my finger on it... https://twitter.com/...
@mehdirhasan Mehdi Hasan on x
Still can't quite figure out if Musk has gone full QAnon in the space of a matter of weeks or if this is all just an elaborate and deliberate - if reckless and dangerous - trolling operation to get more eyeballs on his new purchase. https://twitter.com/...
@ohhkaygo Kayla Gogarty on x
The day after suspending journalists, Musk just reinstated at least a dozen more right-wing accounts. Among the reinstated accounts are far-right media and other figures, election and vaccine misinformers, and a white nationalist https://www.mediamatters.org/ ... https://twitter.…
Washington Post Heather Kelly on mastodon
A guide to getting started with Twitter alternative Mastodon
Gizmodo Mack DeGeurin on mastodon
Elon Bans Mastodon Links as Twitter Purge Continues
Tech.co Isobel O'Sullivan on mastodon
Musk Bans Mastodon and Journalists in Twitter Censorship U-Turn
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org Lauren Weinstein on mastodon
Reports continue to come in of #Twitter users who are trying to edit their Twitter profiles …
Android Headlines Arthur Brown on mastodon
Twitter is blocking people from posting about Mastodon
New York Post Ariel Zilber on mastodon
Elon Musk goes to war with Twitter rival Mastodon, bans server links
Fossbytes Manik Berry on mastodon
Twitter Won't Let You Tweet Mastodon Links Now, And Here's Why
Rolling Stone Charisma Madarang on mastodon
Elon Musk's Twitter Bans and Blocks Links to Rival Mastodon
TechCrunch Taylor Hatmaker on mastodon
Twitter suspends Mastodon's account and bans Mastodon links, calling them “harmful” and “malware”, after Mastodon tweeted a jet tracking account on its service
@goldman Jason Goldman on x
I guess they were banned for revealing the location of where all the Twitter users are going. https://twitter.com/...
@yair_rosenberg Yair Rosenberg on x
@AmyMarxkors I don't want Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, or any other dudes of this ilk deciding what can and can't be said on the internet's biggest platforms through their whims or opaque internal processes. And neither should you. It breeds anger, uncertainty, and di…
@leah_nylen @leah_nylen on x
@Sherman1890 Very fair. I think you could make an argument that they dominate some kind of microblogging social network, but then you'd need to argue it's fundamentally different from other social networking like FB.
@ericmbudd Eric Budd on x
“If Twitter has market power, it may have some duties to deal with competitors,” Slaiman said. “Duties to deal is an area of antitrust law that I think is really important in the tech sector, but has been aggressively narrowed” in recent decades." https://www.cnn.com/...
@sherman1890 @sherman1890 on x
@leah_nylen Okay but if its a unilateral strategy it would require that Twitter be a dominant firm. That was the premise in FB. What does Twitter dominate?
@mikemacagnone Michael Macagnone on x
Just spitballing here, but isn't Twitter blocking links to *competing* websites like Post and Mastodon exactly the kind of thing that would get the juices flowing at the FTC?
@randfish Rand Fishkin on x
If it wasn't a solid alternative that lots of folks are using, he wouldn't be blocking it. That alone should convince you. https://www.cnn.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@b_fung Brian Fung on x
Does Twitter blocking Mastodon links constitute anticompetitive behavior against a nascent rival? I asked a couple of legal experts, including Bill Baer, the former antitrust chief at DOJ and FTC in two US administrations. Here's what they say: https://www.cnn.com/...
@yair_rosenberg Yair Rosenberg on x
@AmyMarxkors It has been clear for years that social media platforms have centralized power in the hands of wealthy elites who are not accountable to the public and whose moderation decisions lack consistency and transparency. Musk has just made this extremely obvious, but it's n…
@leah_nylen @leah_nylen on x
Actually yes. This was a part of the FTC's original case against Facebook — how the company shut down links to Vine. But the judge threw out that part of the complaint (now on appeal in the state's case) https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life @carnage4life on x
If links to Mastodon are being blocked, I guess that answers the question on whether usage metrics are declining.
@maxkennerly Max Kennerly on x
Took only a month for Elon to change his view on Mastodon from being joke worthy to posing such a grave threat to Twitter that he's blocking every link to every server he can find. https://twitter.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
So linking to mastodon appears now forbidden. The Mastodon account is fully suspended. If you share on Twitter that it's still possible to go to Mastodon and search for the Elon+Jet account and look up publicly available info then I presume it's ok. But 🤷🏻‍♂️ - his platform, rule…
@caseynewton@mastodon.social Casey Newton on mastodon
I have thought about it and Thursday was one of the 10 funniest days in the history of Silicon Valley
Fast Company Michael Grothaus on mastodon
Twitter's latest chaos: Journalists purged, Spaces yanked, rival social network suspended
@mmasnick@mastodon.social @mmasnick@mastodon.social on mastodon
Listening to the Twitter Space where Musk buddy Jason Calacanis is defending the removal …
@forevereversley Bradley Eversley on x
Holy Shit. Elon Musk just popped into a Twitter Spaces chat with a bunch of journalists. He was called out by journalist Drew Harrell, who he banned, for lying about posting links to his private information, then leaves almost immediately after being pressed. Here is the exchange…
@brenonade Brennan Murphy on x
Here is Elon's full appearance in @katienotopoulos' spaces with banned journalists tonight https://twitter.com/...
@katienotopoulos Katie Notopoulos on x
https://twitter.com/...
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
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!
@maxkennerly Max Kennerly on x
This tweet, in which Ben accurately summarized news at Twitter using Musk's own words, prompted NBC to pull Ben from discussing Musk on-air: https://www.semafor.com/... Does @NBCNews think Ben should've lied to cover for Musk's ignorance about Twitter and corporate governance? 🤔 …
@katienotopoulos Katie Notopoulos on x
somehow Twitter doesn't stop suspended accounts from joining Spaces, so @ElonJet, @drewharwell, @mattbinder (all suspended) are all here lmao https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Twitter has a bug where suspended accounts could still use Twitter Spaces. Since everyone who knows that codebase has been fired, Twitter has shut down the entire Twitter Spaces feature. Truly a master class in how to run a social media service. https://twitter.com/...
@lookner Steve Lookner on x
Twitter Spaces has been temporarily deactivated. Elon Musk claims Twitter is fixing a “legacy bug.” Earlier tonight a Twitter Space that included several of the journalists who had been suspended (and which Elon Musk briefly stopped by) had a large audience. https://twitter.com/.…
@kattenbarge Kat Tenbarge on x
Elon Musk was just in a Twitter Space with a few journalists and after getting like 3 questions he had to leave because he couldn't answer a single one
@martinfowler Martin Fowler on x
Musk rode into Twitter as a proud Free Speech Warrior. Last night delivered more evidence to show that, at best, he was very naive. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@sunnyright Sunny McSunnyface on x
Attacking a private sector company owner for exposing governmental corruption and media censorship isn't “speaking truth to power,” it's being a propagandist https://twitter.com/...
@aoc Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on x
Journalism is supposed to speak truth to power, not bow to it. https://twitter.com/...
@onesarahjones Sarah Jones on x
he really had to get his mommy involved https://twitter.com/...
@randfish Rand Fishkin on x
“Elmer Fudd fighting with a website full of Bugs Bunnies” 🤣 https://twitter.com/...
@rapplerdotcom @rapplerdotcom on x
Melissa Fleming, head of communications for the United Nations, tweets she was 'deeply disturbed by the suspensions and that ‘media freedom is not a toy.’ https://www.rappler.com/...
@markruffalo Mark Ruffalo on x
😮 The past several months have been like a Jackass episode for billionaires. https://twitter.com/...
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
Here is Musk's full exchange on Twitter Space as he tried to explain himself, misrepresented what the reporter was doing, the reporter challenged him and then Musk misrepresented it again and took off. https://twitter.com/...
@jordanuhl @jordanuhl on x
man just dips https://twitter.com/...
@kattenbarge Kat Tenbarge on x
The New York Times wants journalists reinstated along with an explanation, and here it is. Responding to tweets about the journalists' suspensions, Elon says they were banned for “doxxing.” It's safe to say the journalists who were banned were not doxxing Elon Musk https://twitte…
@clarajeffery Clara Jeffery on x
Did...Twitter just cut off a Twitter spaces that was a discussion of Elon's total hypocrisy and censorship? Do I have that right?
@jackposobiec @jackposobiec on x
BREAKING: @ElonMusk just hopped on Spaces with a group of journalists and informed them the same doxxing rules apply to them and they aren't special https://twitter.com/...
@dfriedman33 Dan Friedman on x
As Drew Harrell noted after Musk fled without addressing questions, “Elon is trying to make this about doxxing and stalking, and that is not it.” He's banning reporters for reporting public information that does not disclose his or his families' location. https://twitter.com/...
@mrandyngo @mrandyngo on x
“You're not special because you're a journalist.” @elonmusk let journalists know they're subject to the same rules. Left-wing media, many of who defended bannings, has been having meltdowns after several of their own were temporarily suspended for doxing. https://thepostmillennia…
@alexblagg @alexblagg on x
just incredible stuff, and also he did this WHILE posting a redo of his own poll because he didn't like the results. Multi-tasking! https://twitter.com/...
@mattxiv Matt on x
if you're wondering why twitter spaces is gone it's bc some journalists asked elon like 3 questions so he left and got rid of the entire feature https://twitter.com/...
@bcmerchant Brian Merchant on x
I was prepared for the Musk twitter era to be a vainglorious train wreck, but I admit I was not prepared for just how *pathetic* it would be. The thundering about free speech followed up immediately with his banning any accounts that make him feel threatened—just so transparent h…
@tomgara Tom Gara on x
Friendship ended with KATIE https://twitter.com/...
@marisakabas Marisa Kabas on x
audio of elon musk joining @katienotopoulos twitter space, getting pushback about his bogus claims, and storming out (h/t @CrymsonDawn) https://twitter.com/...
@punished_catbus @punished_catbus on x
Elon Musk deleting Spaces because a journalist made him cry is the most owned anyone has ever been, online
@dellcam Dell Cameron on x
if you want to hear jason calacanis talk over a bunch of people for 20 minutes, here's your chance https://twitter.com/...
@jtlol @jtlol on x
They don't care about censorship. They just want to be the censors. https://twitter.com/...
@qwrrty Tim Pierce on x
This Twitter Space was wild. WILD. A whole slew of the #BloodyThursday banned journalists showed up. Then Elmo himself joined the chat and gave extremely awkward, evasive answers, and then fled. Then about a half-hour later the whole Space got terminated mid-sentence. https://twi…
@fchollet François Chollet on x
E.M. bans a bunch of journalists critical of him, then he pops into a Space where he gets called out for lying about the official motive for the bans, can't justify himself, immediately leaves. Shortly afterwards Twitter forcefully shut down that Space. Just incredible stuff. htt…
@cooltimesonline @cooltimesonline on x
a hilarious gigantic baby https://twitter.com/...
@jonbradyphoto Jon Brady on x
Elon Musk tells journalists in a Twitter Space “You dox, you get suspended, that's it”, in response to criticism of his blocking of the @elonjet account - and then immediately runs away before anyone can respond. If we thought Trump had thin skin, boy oh boy... https://twitter.co…
@eliothiggins Eliot Higgins on x
Elon Musk bringing the Badly Moderated Early-2000s Internet Forum experience to hundreds of millions of people.
@koladeszn @koladeszn on x
Now Elon has removed space from twitter, can you give me a space in your heart? https://twitter.com/...
@aliceavizandum Donna Respirator on x
Twitter Spaces no longer exist and all it took was Elon Musk getting owned in one of them one time lmao
@mattsheffield Matthew Sheffield on x
This was always a lie, but tonight made it obvious. Elon Musk is a reactionary extremist who hates real free speech. He wants to make this site a safe space for neo-nazis, liars, spammers, morons, and scammers. https://twitter.com/...
@crulge @crulge on x
There's a twitter space right now where Elon's lackey @jason is saying that the Elon jet account was putting children in danger. Which is funny because that guy knows a lot about flight data and endangered children https://twitter.com/...
@ericareport Erica Marsh on x
Elon Musk just abruptly left a Twitter Space after being unable to answer any questions regarding the mass suspension of journalists.
@jeretonuniverse @jeretonuniverse on x
For everyone is wondering why #TwitterSpaces is not working: Elon had this encounter with journalists and fled the scene, not shortly after all of the metadata of the space was deleted including access to it. Suspicions are that he turned off access to Spaces overall. https://twi…
@rmayemsinger Randi Mayem Singer on x
Elon just showed up in this Space, refused to answer journalists' questions, barked some orders and stormed out. Incredible. https://twitter.com/...
@tomgara Tom Gara on x
The whole thing really got nuked from space. The concept of a series of frantic late night messages among execs being told that Katie Notopoulos must be stopped is an incredible one to think about. https://twitter.com/...
@davidlat David Lat on x
So apparently suspended accounts can still participate in Twitter Spaces; the recently suspended @MattBinder is in this Spaces conversation right now. I guess glitches like this happen when you fire all your engineers.... https://twitter.com/...
@jordanuhl @jordanuhl on x
lol elon joined that space, got one tough question then bounced because he got cornered in his response
@jbouie @jbouie on x
this guy might be the single biggest baby on the planet https://twitter.com/...
@adribbleofink Aidan Moher on x
Dude coulda had it all. He coulda built spaceships and future cars, people would've loved him. Solved cold fusion. He coulda had a Fortnite skin and ended up next to Edison and Tesla in the history books without ever having to work a day in his life. But instead he chose... this.…
@katienotopoulos Katie Notopoulos on x
The best part of hosting a Twitter Space with Elon Musk is that @PranavDixit had to write about it https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@pranavdixit @pranavdixit on x
🚨 Breaking: Elon Musk Bounced From A Twitter Space After Journalists He Suspended Tried To Ask Him Why They Were Banned https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@kimtodzi Kim Todzi on x
One has to admire the fact how bluntly Elon Musk demonstrates what an Orwellian farce his free speech approach is. https://twitter.com/...
@triketora Tracy Chou on x
cannot wait for all the journalists to write up the insane discussion from this space https://twitter.com/...
@johnpaczkowski John Paczkowski on x
Elon fled a Twitter space with most every tech reporter in the business when @katienotopoulos pressed him on this moments ago. https://twitter.com/...
@iamsophianelson Sophia A. Nelson on x
He's not okay. https://twitter.com/...
@oalexanderdk Oliver Alexander on x
Suspended accounts can still freely use Twitter Spaces to both talk and listen. Top tier coding at Twitter https://twitter.com/...
@ceciliakang Cecilia Kang on x
The party moved to the back porch, people. Join https://twitter.com/...

Chronicles