Elon Musk Accepts Defeat

My Twitter ban has been reversed

Late last night, X (née Twitter) reinstated my account after banning me on September 26 for publishing the J.D. Vance dossier. Elon Musk personally intervened, in the name of “free speech principles,” according to correspondence I’ve seen. Musk had previously declared me “evil” before X suspended me in a move we now know was coordinated with the Trump campaign.

“I’ve asked X Safety to unsuspend him, even though I think he is an awful human being,” Musk told political commentator Brian Krassenstein (and frequent doppelgänger of mine) on October 11. “Important to stay true to free speech principles.”

The reinstatement of my account later that day reversed what X had previously informed me was a “permanent” suspension. The only explanation I’ve received from X came in an email from Twitter Support last night. The email reiterated my alleged violation of X’s policy on posting private information, but also said that the incident may have been a mistake on my part, for which reason I was being un-suspended. The memo did not explain why X only just realized this. Per the email:

“Your account was suspended after a review identified violations of the Posting Private Information policy.  

We know this incident may have been a mistake on your part, and we appreciate you preventing it from happening again in the future. Your account is now unsuspended.  Please keep in mind that repeat violations could lead to a permanent suspension.”

Musk’s decision followed a New York Times story last Sunday reporting that X had coordinated with the Trump campaign to prevent circulation of links to my article containing the dossier. Why did Musk capitulate? Perhaps it was the mainstream media pile-on that followed from the Times story, or more generously, perhaps it was Musk’s commitment to keeping X open.

I’m glad to be back on the microblogging site I started using over a decade ago. Checking the app only to realize I couldn’t post anymore felt a bit like phantom limb disorder. Twitter is addictive and it is essential for any journalist. But it also predisposes you to myopia, making every real-time development seem more important than it really is. So for now, it’s not entirely clear who won: Elon or I.

I guess we’ll find out! 

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— Edited by William M. Arkin