Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has blocked links to the JD Vance dossier that contains research by the Trump campaign on the vice-presidential nominee. The platform has also suspended journalist Ken Klippenstein, who published the dossier that reportedly resulted from an Iranian hack of the Trump campaign.
X’s safety account explained that Klippenstein was suspended for violating rules on posting unredacted private personal information, specifically pointing to Vance’s physical addresses and a large portion of his Social Security number. Despite this, Klippenstein’s website currently hosts a redacted version of the dossier, accessible here.
Klippenstein defended his actions in a follow-up article, arguing the public interest in the dossier and disputing X’s claim that he posted unredacted private information on the platform. He noted that the private information within the dossier was sourced from commercial data brokers, making it readily accessible to those who purchase it.
The situation contrasts sharply with Musk’s earlier criticism of Twitter’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story for blocking material based on a policy against posting hacked content. Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now X, he has positioned himself as a champion of free speech, criticizing the platform’s earlier decisions to limit the distribution of sensitive materials.
For more details on this ongoing issue, please refer to the full article here.