A journalist, Jacqueline Sweet, reported that her X account was suspended and links to her recent article were blocked after she published a piece debunking conspiracy theories claiming that an Elon Musk fan account was actually Musk himself.
The Story Behind the Theory
Sweet’s article, published in The Spectator, investigated the X account of Adrian Dittmann, a man from Fiji who regularly posts positively about Musk and engages in conversations on X. The theory circulating online suggested that Dittmann was Musk using an alternate identity. Sweet, along with Swiss hacker maia arson crimew and journalist Ryan Fae, debunked this theory, revealing that Dittmann is indeed a separate individual living in Fiji.
Musk’s Response and Sweet’s Account Suspension
After Sweet shared a link to her article, Musk jokingly replied, “I am Adrian Dittmann. It’s time the world knew.” Following this, Sweet’s X account was suspended, and similar suspensions affected crimew and Fae. Links to The Spectator article and other related blog posts were blocked on X, with error messages suggesting technical issues, despite the content being blocked for reasons that seemed linked to spam protection.
Claim of Doxxing Denied
Sweet was notified by X that her suspension was due to a violation of the platform’s rules related to “Posting Private Information,” also known as doxxing. Sweet denied that she had shared any private information about Dittmann, asserting that the article only utilized public information.
The Public Interest in the Story
Matt McDonald, US managing editor of The Spectator, defended the article, stating that it presented “many pieces of public information” to debunk the conspiracy theory, without revealing any private details. McDonald emphasized that the goal was to clarify that Dittmann was not Musk, a subject of public interest given Musk’s increasing involvement in government and international matters.
No Comment from X
As of now, X has not responded to requests for comment regarding the suspensions or the blocking of links.
