The panel on Fox & Friends criticized Elon Musk on Friday for the recent suspension of multiple journalists on Twitter, with co-host Steve Doocy declaring that the CEO should offer an explanation.
On Thursday night, Twitter accounts for several mainstream journalists were suspended, which included those of Keith Olbermann, Drew Harwell (The Washington Post), Donie O'Sullivan (CNN) and Ryan Mac (The New York Times).
Musk—who acquired Twitter this fall—briefly appeared in a Twitter Spaces session moderated by several journalists following the suspensions. When asked about the suspensions, he cited reporters covering Twitter's ongoing actions against the @ElonJet account, which had been sharing information about the location of Musk's private jet. The Twitter boss called the disclosure of such information "doxxing."
The journalists' suspensions have resulted in many denouncements from other members of the media, with many people citing Musk's previous declaration of being a "free speech absolutist" who would cut down on Twitter's moderation.
Among the more prominent voices to speak out on Musk's actions was veteran journalist and author Dan Rather, who tweeted Thursday, "Apparently it's 'Free speech for me. Not for thee.'"
Apparently it’s “Free speech for me. Not for thee.”
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 16, 2022
Meanwhile, the Fox & Friends hosts expressed surprise about the suspensions.
"This is crazy!" co-host Brian Kilmeade said as correspondent Kevin Corke began describing the details of the story.
Doocy soon said to Corke, "I was reading this morning, it sounds like some of those reporters had talked about the feud he had with the kid who was posting public information about his jet's location."
"Correct. But I think it's unclear why the others were suspended," Corke answered, who added, "I've read that they were critical of Musk in general. Now, if that's the line now, then obviously that's probably not going to make him look very fair or make the platform look very good."
In addition, Corke said that "if there's more to it, if there's threatening language, if there was language that would again direct you to dox his family, then maybe he would have a stronger argument. And basically, all I can tell you, Steve, is this is his shop."
Kilmeade emphasized that usually bans and suspensions on the social media platform aren't applied to outlets like The New York Times, CNN and The Washington Post, while co-host Ainsley Earhardt indicated she accepted Musk's doxxing explanation.
Speaking about Musk and his family, Earhardt said "they should be able to go to restaurants and be able to go out and enjoy their lives without having to worry about someone coming up to them or throwing a Molotov cocktail at their restaurant."
Doocy replied: "Sure. But if they were just being critical of him, he's got to explain why those people were suspended."
Newsweek reached out to Fox News and Musk for comment.
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