Credit: Unsplash

Any journalists that have covered Elon Musk’s activities have been suspended.

On Thursday night, multiple journalists working for major publications like CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, as well as various independent journalists, all suddenly found their Twitter accounts suspended without warning. Following this, Twitter owner Elon Musk posted a series of tweets announcing that the suspensions were deliberate, as the journalists had allegedly violated Twitter’s terms of service by posting coverage of him.

Musk wrote that the accounts posted “my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service.” Musk was likely referring to a recent high-profile banning of a Twitter account that tracked the location of his private jet, which was covered by multiple major outlets.

The news outlets have all asked for clarification from Twitter and Musk, with several threatening to pull ads and financial backing if a satisfactory agreement isn’t reached. A CNN spokesperson said that the company would “reevaluate our relationship based on that response.”

BREAKING: Twitter suspends journalists who have been covering Elon Musk and the company https://t.co/2vqCx4duj3 by @JasonAbbruzzese

— Timothy R. Homan (@timothyrhoman) December 16, 2022

“The impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising. Twitter’s increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses Twitter,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson from The New York Times called Musk’s move “questionable and unfortunate,” adding that “Neither The Times nor [suspended reporter Ryan Mac] have received any explanation about why this occurred. We hope that all of the journalists’ accounts are reinstated and that Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action.”