Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chastises Elon Musk for suspending journalists' Twitter accounts

US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in another squabble with Elon Musk, this time, by criticising the Twitter CEO for suspending the accounts of popular journalists who would often cover stories about him and the social networking company. 

Starting from Wednesday, Twitter suspended multiple accounts including ElonJet, which tracked the billionaire’s real-time flight details, as well as the accounts of journalists like Aaron Rupar, The New York Times’ Ryan Mac, The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell, CNN's Donie O’Sullivan, and Mashable’s Matt Binder. Furthermore, the list of suspended accounts included Mastodon, a social media platform that emerged as an alternative to Twitter following Musk’s acquisition. 

“Accounts engaged in doxxing receive a temporary 7 day suspension,” Musk tweeted to justify the unprecedented move. Responding to this, Ocasio-Cortez said: “You’re a public figure. An extremely controversial and powerful one. I get feeling unsafe, but descending into abuse of power + erratically banning journalists only increases the intensity around you.” She further urged Musk to “take a beat and lay off the proto-fascism. Maybe try putting down your phone," AOC said, advising Musk that "at a certain point you gotta disconnect." Reacting to this, the Twitter boss quipped, “You first lol.”

What is the story behind Musk's sudden move to suspend journalists?

Musk’s abrupt decision to go on a suspension spree was fuelled by a recent incident, when he revealed that his son was followed by a “crazy stalker” who had jumped on the hood of the car. Furthermore, Musk threatened 20-year-old Jack Sweeney, the operator of the ElonJet account, that he is seeking legal action against him and "organisations who supported harm to my family.”

"Last night, car carrying [his son] lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving and climbed onto hood," Musk said in the tweet. “Criticising me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not,” he said in another tweet, adding that “They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service.”