Elon Musk on Friday night reinstated nine journalists he had suspended the day before from Twitter – 24 hours after he made a cameo appearance in a discussion to debate his decision, and then abruptly left the forum when challenged by reporters.
Musk, who had faced widespread condemnation for his blocking of reporters who angered him, tweeted on Friday: ‘The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now.’
The Twitter owner on Thursday banned journalists from CNN, Washington Post, New York Times and other outlets after they reported on his decision to block an account charting his private jet use.
The nine accounts were immediately restored on Friday evening, after Musk’s declaration.
Musk had said the journalists ‘doxxed’ him by revealing his private information; the journalists insisted that they had not published his address or location.
On Thursday evening, BuzzFeed News tech reporter Katie Notopoulos hosted a Twitter Spaces discussion, which Musk joined.
‘Everyone’s going to be treated the same,’ said Musk, defending his decision to suspend the reporters’ accounts.
‘They’re not special just because you’re a journalist.’
This post was originally published at The Daily Mail