Did @ElonMusk order a change to Twitter rules to justify banning @ElonJet?

Tweet

Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info.

Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 15, 2022

Yesterday, Twitter suspended the @ElonJet account. This Twitter account tracked the location of Musk's private jet. Musk had tried to shut it down even before he bought Twitter. At one point he offered them $5,000 to shutdown—they refused. Now they're gone.

CNN reported on it:

Twitter suspends account that tracked Musk’s private jet, despite billionaire’s ‘free speech’ pledge

By Donie O'Sullivan

14 December 2022

Twitter on Wednesday permanently suspended an account that tracked the location of Elon Musk’s private jet, despite the social media company’s owner vowing last month he would leave the account up as part of his “commitment to free speech.” ...More

Well, it would appear that the Twitter Rules they are accused of violating were posted by Twitter just today! 

Here is the relevant section of the Twitter doxxing policy as it stands today, 14 December 2022. It's dated "December 2022":

From Twitter website today

And here is that section as it was retrieved from yesterday, 13 December via the WayBack Machine.

It's dated "April 2022".

You'll notice that the difference between the two versions is the addition of this section:

live location information, including information shared on Twitter directly or links to 3rd-party URL(s) of travel routes, actual physical location, or other identifying information that would reveal a person’s location, regardless if this information is publicly available;

From Twitter website yesterday via WayBack Macine.

This seems very crudely crafted to justify the banning of @ElonJet, which took place BEFORE this new policy was posted, especially the part that says "regardless if this information is publicly available" because @ElonJet relied upon publicly available flight information.

We know that @ElonJet was banned before this policy was posted because in examining the WayBack Machine's archives in detail, we can see that this change was made between the 18:45:15 snapshot and the 22:14:01 snapshot today, 14 December 2022. AFTER the @ElonJet was banned. We know that because the WayBack Machine's first snapshot of the day for https://twitter.com/ElonJet at 08:58:20 on 14 December 2022 already shows the account as suspended!

Elon Musk also banned an account that tracks Russian Oligarch Jets at the same time:

UPDATE: It appears the Russian oligarch private jet trackers Jack ran were also suspended along with Elon’s jet tracker @ElonJet and Jack’s personal account 🤔 pic.twitter.com/6FA86s0rD6

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) December 14, 2022

When the billionaire said he was buying Twitter to defend free speech, we all knew that was a lie, but this is complete totalitarian BS—making up rules to suit your fancy—making up rules on the fly—suspending people for violating rules before they are posted. 

 I first got involved with Twitter when I was reporting on the Arab Spring in 2011. It was an important tool for liberation then, more than all the other social media sites because the old Twitter could also use the SMS format (text messages). That was important because in 2011 most cell phones in MENA weren't smartphones. Twitter has come a long way since then—a long way down. The main Twitter story of today isn't even this. It's the one about Twitter locking out Ukrainian users.

Clay Claiborne

14 December 2022

UPDATE ALREADY: Clean Up on Aisle 5

When @levifishman posted a Tweet noting that Twitter didn't suspend the account tracking Jeff Bezo's  jet,  Twitter added this warning to his tweet:

Readers added context they thought people might want to know

The BezosJets account is suspended. twitter.com/BezosJets

Do you find this helpful?

What they didn't say is that they suspended @BezosJets only after @levifishman's tweet! His tweet was at 14:58 GMT  Dec 14, 2022 The WayBack Machine shows the account still up in its 15:21:55  GMT 14 Dec. 2022.

Twitter suspended the account following Elon's jet but not the one following Jeff Bezos' jet. Even though they do the same thing and are run by the same guy. Why does @elonmusk hate free speech when the speech is about Elon Musk? pic.twitter.com/fOxvNdA3e8

— Levi Fishman (@levifishman) December 14, 2022

It's becoming increaingly clear that the billionaire is willing to use his control of a media company to play fast and lose with the truth, and even re-write history. Bad news that.

UPDATE 16 Dec 2022: Chris Hayes on MSNBC confirmed that Elon Musk suspended #ElonJet before he posted the rules used to justify its suspendion:

@chrislhayes @MSNBC confirm news I broke 2 days ago—@ElonMusk changed the Twitter rules AFTER he banned @ElonJet!

Did @ElonMusk order a change to Twitter rules to justify banning @ElonJet? https://t.co/ONhxxWohK0 #GenocideOfUkrainians via @clayclai pic.twitter.com/IVMmLfvdk7

— 🇺🇦 Linux Beach 🇺🇦 (@clayclai) December 17, 2022

 

Is Twitter still blocking my media?

 

This is what Musk is blocking.