X Purges Prominent Journalists, Leftists With No Explanation
www.vice.com
Ken Klippenstein, Steven Monacelli, and Alan MacLeod were all suspended from the platform.

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

  • chickentendrils [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    29·
    10 months ago

    The idea that decentralization can somehow topple the central authority is a myth, just like how Bitcoiners continue to believe that their fake currency can somehow topple the central banks.

    Equating free & open equivalents, which just need adoption, to cryptocurrency which has significant flaws doesn’t make sense to me… It costs nothing to switch, there’s no inherent risks involved. It remains to be seen what happens long term with Twitter financially too. Maybe Musk gets another State/DOD bailout or it’s too valuable as propaganda/data collection to some present shareholder, but that’s not decided.

    I don’t use any Twitter or equivalents, but I do see screenshots and archive/proxy links to it.

    • Kaplya [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      16·
      10 months ago

      It’s the same reason why Linux is the free and even superior alternative to Windows and Mac, but most people will never use it. There are, of course, adoption, but it will never achieve the critical mass needed to displace the dominant systems. Most people will just follow whatever everyone is using, and the platforms that have already penetrated the entire depth of the market, and have the most capital, will always have a very strong head start against their competitors.