Elon Musk’s confused Twitter weekend – a Trump timeline in polls behind DeSantis – why the ex-President still has a chance

After the criticism got loud again, Elon Musk went back to voting. For him, this time it’s about more than ever before: his main post on Twitter. The user can now decide whether Musk should remain CEO of Twitter or let someone blow a breath of fresh air. Musk says he will submit to the outcome.

Should I step down as head of Twitter? I’ll stick to the results of this poll.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022

Who can blame him, the last round was a really great game. Mr. Musk experiences the desert duel live on site from a lounge, dressed in a stylish T-shirt. Evil tongues (i.e. Twitter users) rumor that he’s actually in the Arabian Peninsula on business – things aren’t looking too good for Twitter stocks right now. Also present in the lounge: Jared Kushner, son-in-law and former adviser to ex-US President Donald Trump.

Jared Kushner spotted with Elon Musk in Qatar at the World Cup. 👀

Interesting! pic.twitter.com/DjfgGxvugb

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 18, 2022

Meanwhile, criticism of his own platform is heard again. Because apparently you can no longer advertise competing platforms, as the other short message service “Mastodon” has painfully experienced. Official account blocked, links to the platform are marked as “malware” ie malware.

Several of the journalists’ blocked accounts are accessible again on Saturday morning (local time) – but not all. The Journis are still ugly. As Aaron Rupar writes, “It’s a clear example that it’s no longer a rules-based company. It’s basically a company built on Elon Musk’s whim, and the terms of service depend on his day-to-day mood.”

Journalist Tony Webster, who was also affected by the block, wrote on Twitter after his unblock that there had been no “doxxing” – “even if an easily irritable, inexplicable oligarch said so”.

And: the Flugi Tracker account is still blocked.

The user speaks, Elon does. The mood is clear: Twitter users want Musk to unlock the blocked accounts. And lo and behold – Mr. Musk apparently gives in.

The people have spoken.

Accounts that doxxed my location are now unsuspended. https://t.co/MFdXbEQFCe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2022

As before, Musk is now letting the user community decide on his next move. In a vote, Twitter users can choose whether to unblock the “Doxing” accounts again. In fact, this happens in two voices: The first is repeated because there were “too many answers,” according to Musk. Whether the reason for this is actually Musk’s dissatisfaction with the result remains to be seen.

Unsuspend accounts that have doxxed my exact location in real time

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022

On Wednesday, Elon Musk blocked an account that tracked and tweeted the real-time location of his private jet. This is because so-called “doxxing”, ie the publication of personal data (such as location), is against Twitter rules. Now Musk struck again, this time making it into the accounts of journalists from various newspapers such as the Washington Post, the New York Times and CNN. They were also accused of doxxing. According to the Washington Post, there was no evidence for that.

Twitter has suspended the accounts of several high-profile journalists on the platform who have covered the company and Elon Musk. pic.twitter.com/5BpHftxSVB

— PEN America (@PENamerica) December 16, 2022