A CNN correspondent whose Twitter account was suspended this week is rebutting Elon Musks explanation for the move, suggesting instead that he was targeted for his reporting on the CEO and his company.
During an appearance Friday on CNN This Morning, Donie OSullivan said the claim that he and other journalists had reported Musks exact real-time location, therefore breaking the platforms newly updated rules, does not stand up to scrutiny.
Thats just entirely false, said OSullivan, who has written about the chaos at the company since Musks takeover in October.
When asked what he believed to be the true reason for the suspension, he said, I poked the billionaire.
OSullivan was among multiple journalists whose accounts were restricted Thursday, including The New York Times Ryan Mac, The Washington Posts Drew Harwell, Mashables Matt Binder and independent journalist Aaron Rupar.
The CNN correspondent stated that he had spent the day reporting on Twitters decision to restrict the @ElonJet account, which tracks Musks private jet using publicly available information. He said he found out his account was suspended through a colleague later that evening.
OSullivan acknowledged that Twitter is a private company and is therefore allowed to take such action. But he argued that this weeks suspensions directly contradict Musks stated goal for the platform to champion free speech.
Coming from the guy whos the free speech absolutist, who says he wants this to be a beacon of free expression, it is quite something to see him banning journalists who all just happen to cover him critically but I would also say fairly, OSullivan said.
\"I poked the billionaire.\"@CNN's Donie O'Sullivan discusses his Twitter suspension: pic.twitter.com/4mirJBEhAT
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CNN This Morning (@CNNThisMorning) December 16, 2022
In a statement , CNN called OSullivans suspension concerning and pledged to review its relationship with Twitter going forward.
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Statement on tonight's suspension of CNN's @donie O'Sullivan: pic.twitter.com/TQGsysxvpf
CNN Communications (@CNNPR) December 16, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"CNN Communications","author_url":"https://twitter.com/CNNPR","cache_age":86400,"description":"Statement on tonight's suspension of CNN's @donie O'Sullivan: pic.twitter.com/TQGsysxvpf CNN Communications (@CNNPR) December 16, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FkEO7d7WQAEaBny.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"CNN Communications on 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musk","slug":"elon-musk","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/elon-musk","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/elon-musk","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/elon-musk"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Elon Musk","slug":"elon-musk","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/elon-musk"},{"name":"Donie O'Sullivan","slug":"donie-osullivan","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donie-osullivan","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donie-osullivan","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donie-osullivan"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/donie-osullivan"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">Statement on tonight's suspension of CNN's @donie O'Sullivan: pic.twitter.com/TQGsysxvpf
CNN Communications (@CNNPR) December 16, 2022
Twitter also suspended the account of Mastodon, a social media platform seen by some users as an alternative to Musks site following his takeover.
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