Elon Musk Suspends The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz From Twitter

Elon Musk’s war on journalists Walked this weekend with Washington Post Reporter Taylor Lorenz has been temporarily kicked from Twitter after asking a wayward billionaire for comment on a story.

“When I went to log in and see if he responded to our inquiry, I was suspended. I received no communication from the company about why I was suspended or what terms I violated,” Lorenz wrote on Substack.

Musk said Sunday morning that Lorenz was suspended for “pre-filing this account” and that it would be lifted “soon.”

But when Lorenz appealed her suspension, she received a response from Twitter saying her account was “permanently suspended” and that she shouldn’t even bother responding because “this decision will not be reversed.”

A few hours later, Lorenz’s Twitter account was restored.

The comment came only two days later Musk suspended and then reinstated the accounts of several prominent journalists who referred to the account elonjet, It is run by a college student who tracks the movements of his private jet.

It also came on the heels of a recent complaint to Musk by influential manager Ariadna Jacob, who was the subject of a critical article by Lorenz and who later sued the reporter for libel.

Jacob claimed Lorenz made it up in the article, that appeared in New York times when i worked there. In Lorenz’s story, she linked up on Zillow’s public listing of an influential collaborative house.

“Such disgraceful behavior will not be tolerated in the future,” Musk wrote in response on Friday, the day before Lorenz’s comment on Twitter.

This step was condemned Washington Post Executive Editor Sally Buzby, who noted that it was the second commentary for Mail reporter after journalist Drew Harwell was suspended Thursday.

“The arbitrary comment of another Post journalist further undermines Elon Musk’s claim that he intends to operate Twitter as a platform dedicated to freedom of expression,” Buzbee said in a statement. “Once again, the suspension occurred without warning, action or explanation — this time as our reporter sought comment from Musk for a story. Journalists who were posted should be reinstated immediately, without arbitrary terms.”

Lorenz’s comment without a clear explanation of her alleged violation was the subject of previous journalists’ bans.

For example, Twitter banned some reporters who only linked to the new @elonjet account on social media competitor Mastodon — which was also briefly banned on Twitter.

“Twitter has been an essential source of real-time news and has played a crucial role in the world of journalism,” Lorenz wrote, “but Musk’s arbitrary suspension of journalists reporting on it should worry anyone who values ​​journalism and free speech.”