Topline
Twitter has permanently banned the account of a 165-year-old newspaper out of Mason City, Iowa, without explanation, according to the outlet’s news editor, but it remains unclear at this point whether this is Twitter’s latest glitch or if the paper’s “ordinary” content stream somehow ran afoul of Twitter’s rules.
Key Facts
Globe Gazette editor Lisa Grouette told Forbes that Twitter suspended the newspaper’s account Tuesday for an unspecified violation of its rules, which the paper appealed.
Grouette said when she went to check on the Twitter account Wednesday she found the suspension had been upgraded to a permanent ban—again due to unidentified rule violation.
“We don’t spam and we don’t support hate speech,” Grouette said, while the only national news the outlet publishes comes from a wire service.
The paper’s recent coverage didn’t include “anything out of the ordinary,” according to Grouette, who also ruled out a theory the Twitter account might have shared something that violated copyright laws, since its content is either original or picked up from the Associated Press.
Twitter and CEO Elon Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Forbes.
Crucial Quote
“We’re just a local newspaper in Iowa,” Grouette said, adding the suspension is hurting business. “It’s very frustrating because obviously we want to grow our readership and digital is the way everything is going.”
Surprising Fact
The Globe Gazette is owned by Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, which operates dozens of small daily newspapers around the country. None of the Globe Gazette’s sister papers have had their Twitter accounts suspended.
Key Background
Musk promoted a vision of turning Twitter into an online free speech paradise before he took control of the platform in October, but he’s faced rampant allegations of attempting to silence his critics as he increasingly cozies up to hard-right personalities and grows more adversarial with the media. Twitter in December suspended a slew of journalists critical of Musk, after the billionaire said they violated a swiftly enacted policy prohibiting “doxxing real-time location info” by sharing a link to a tracker of his private jet. His off-the-cuff policy changes and his decision to lay off a massive chunk of Twitter’s former staff have alarmed regulators—the Federal Trade Commission has asked Twitter to turn over all communications “related to Elon Musk,” while the European Union has reportedly floated a potential ban, in part because of Twitter’s “arbitrary” approach to banning and reinstating users. Musk has repeatedly denied favoritism playing any role in Twitter’s content moderation decisions, painting himself as a centrist eager to incense both the far right and the far left. Glorifying violence, posting hateful content and harassment are among the prohibited content Twitter outlines in a series of rules “to ensure all people can participate in the public conversation freely and safely.”
Tangent
Several major glitches have plagued Twitter in recent weeks, causing brief outages at times. Two Republican Senators—Mike Lee (Utah) and Steve Daines (Mont.)—also briefly had their accounts suspended recently, which Musk attributed to errors.
Further Reading
Twitter Suspends Accounts For Rival Mastodon And Several High-Profile Journalists (Forbes)
FTC Wants All Twitter Communications ‘Related To Elon Musk,’ GOP Report Finds (Forbes)
EU Threatens Twitter Ban Unless Musk Ramps Up Moderation Tactics, Report Says (Forbes)
Republican Sen. Mike Lee’s Twitter Account Briefly Suspended—And It’s Not Clear Why (Forbes)