The suspensions affected several journalists and commentators, including Texas Observer journalist Steven Monacelli, Ken Klippensten of The Intercept, podcaster Rob Rousseau, and Alan MacLeod of MintPress News. The landing page for their accounts says it’s been suspended, but does not give any explanation as to why. A message on the profiles simply states “X suspends accounts which violate the X rules.”

The ban didn’t just hit journalists either. Several prominent-left leaning accounts were also purged from the website, including the account for the TrueAnon podcast and @zei_squirrel, a cartoon squirrel that tweets media criticism of figures like Glenn Greenwald.

This isn't the first time the site has banned reporters. In April, it permanently suspended Wired reporter Dell Cameron after he spoke with a hacker who accessed conservative pundit Matt Walsh’s emails. In December of 2022, it suspended the accounts of ten journalists who’d been critical of site owner Elon Musk.

https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-x-twitter-journalists-banning-spree-1851151593

https://twitter.com/liz_franczak/status/1744712132015370527

Edit: they're back now

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[–] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 72 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (8 children)

Some people have their ego tied to their follower count and it's sad.

Mastodon is the obvious choice for people already using Lemmy. They're both part of the Fediverse. no-copyright

[–] i_need_a_non_identifiable_name@hexbear.net 36 points 10 months ago (7 children)

Not just an ego thing - some people have livelihoods that depend on their follower count. Twitter is very important to update Youtube subscribers, Twitch followers etc. on things. Remember, we are in the early stages of the Technological Adoption Life Cycle (assuming the Fediverse actually catches on) so most people don't use the Fediverse. As a content creator, you have to adapt to what people currently use.

[–] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 33 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (6 children)

There were ways to automatically connect Twitter to the Fediverse and give you the best of both worlds, but Elon killed them. 🙁

[–] i_need_a_non_identifiable_name@hexbear.net 31 points 10 months ago

So much for the "free market" lmao

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