CNN Threatens To ‘Reevaluate’ Relationship With Twitter After Reporter Suspended

After one of its reporters was suspended on Thursday, CNN said it will “reevaluate” its relationship with Twitter depending on the explanation given for the suspension.

The statement was issued after CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan was suspended, among other members of the media, amid a crackdown on those who track the location of private jets, including one owned by Musk.

“The impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising,” CNN’s communications team said in a statement.

“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,” the statement added.

Statement on tonight’s suspension of CNN’s @donie O’Sullivan: pic.twitter.com/TQGsysxvpf

— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) December 16, 2022

Other reporters who cover Musk were also suspended on Thursday, including reporters from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Intercept.

Twitter has not commented on any specific accounts as of press time. “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,” Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, told The Verge.

Musk tweeted that those who have engaged in doxxing receive a seven-day suspension.

“Same doxxing rules apply to ‘journalists’ as to everyone else,” he said in one tweet. “They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service,” he added 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

On Wednesday, Twitter suspended an account that used publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private jet, and Musk said in a tweet that a “crazy stalker” attacked a car in Los Angeles carrying one of his young children.

O’Sullivan was suspended after posting a tweet about this claim, according to screenshots reported 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 tweeted Thursday.

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

Musk completed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in late October and has promoted the release of “The Twitter Files,” which have shown internal discussions about major decisions within Twitter before his takeover, including efforts to suppress certain accounts and posts.

In November, CBS News said it was pausing its activity on the platform “out of an abundance of caution,” only to resume posting a couple days later.

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