Twitter: a journalist challenges Elon Musk, the billionaire temporarily suspends his account

At the slightest mood swing, Elon Musk replies.

The Twitter account of a journalist from the Washington Post was suspended on Sunday, on the decision, according to her, of the boss of the platform, the day after the restoration of several accounts of journalists.

The multi-billionaire, on the other hand, evokes a “temporary suspension” linked to the “previous disclosure of personal data”.

“Elon Musk has suspended my Twitter account,” says Taylor Lorenz, who covers the tech industry for The Washington Post, on his blog.

The multi-billionaire boss of the platform responded publicly on Twitter that this is a “temporary suspension due to a previous disclosure of personal data by this account”, and that this measure “will be lifted soon”.

He was responding to a user who asked him about the subject.

Indeed, the journalist's Twitter account was finally restored in the evening.

pic.twitter.com/MPwjVfRywc

— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) December 18, 2022

Blocked for asking Musk a question

Taylor Lorenz explains that she asked Elon Musk a question via Twitter, for an article she is writing, because she could not reach him through traditional channels.

“My colleague Drew Harwell, who has also been suspended, and I are working on a story involving Musk and were hoping to get some comment from him.

We have tried to reach him several times by email over the past few days, ”explains the journalist.

"At 8:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. in Paris), I tried to reach him on Twitter to get a comment," she says, posting a screenshot of her Tweet, in which she asks to be able to speak to him to discuss the subject she is working on.

Read alsoIt's their "Iron Man": who are Elon Musk's groupies?

“When I logged on (to Twitter) to see if he had responded to our request, I was suspended.

I have not received any communication from the company about the reasons for my suspension or the terms that I violated,” adds Taylor Lorenz.

Other journalist accounts targeted

Elon Musk earlier in the week suspended the Twitter accounts of several journalists, whom he accused of putting his family at risk.

The controversy began on Wednesday when the boss of Tesla and SpaceX announced that he was suspending @elonjet, an account that automatically reported the journeys of his private jet.

Some accounts then tweeted about the decision.

These were reinstated on Saturday, but some said they were told to delete certain posts if they wanted to make full use of the platform.

Elon Musk had drawn the wrath of the European Union and the UN by suspending the accounts of journalists from CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post in particular, the Vice-President of the European Commission even threatening him with sanctions .