Last week, Twitter's Elon Musk suspended several members of the mainstream media for violating Twitter's policy not to share location information, also known as "doxxing."
Among those suspended included CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, New York Times' Ryan Mac, Washington Post's Drew Harwell, The Intercept's Micah Lee, Mashable's Matt Binder, former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann and former Vox reporter Aaron Rupar.
Saturday, Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz joined that list.
Most of the aforementioned have had their accounts reinstated. However, this was not unnoticed by several notable members of Alabama's left-leaning legacy media, who often take cues from their national media counterparts.
News from the States' Brian Lyman, formerly of the Montgomery Advertiser and often deemed as the dean of the Alabama capitol press corps, insisted Twitter was suffering degradation in multiple areas.
AL(dot)commer John Archibald, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2018 for his portrayal of the 2017 U.S. Senate special election between Doug Jones and Roy Moore, responded to Lyman by suggesting his Twitter "habit" could go by the wayside.
However, no one else has responded quite as breathlessly as Archibald's counterpart, AL.com's Kyle Whitmire, who is fighting a "war on dumb."
Since Musk's arrival on the scene, Whitmire has threatened a permanent departure from Twitter for other platforms. However, as of late Sunday night, Whitmire continues his regular Twitter behavior.
King Troll strikes again. https://t.co/uWfXjBOBqh
— Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) December 18, 2022
I really would not give a damn if I got kicked off this platform. What I would hate is if I lost touch with each of you. Go subscribe to my newsletter Alabamafication right now. It’s free! https://t.co/aZYrXI6bpJ https://t.co/zuA63EFAfK pic.twitter.com/n0yh1NSM2J
— Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) December 16, 2022
Twitter appears to be banning accounts that cover King Troll. This is a good time to say again you can find me on Post. https://t.co/AOX4K0Vm6l https://t.co/kTrS2JNEhg
— Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) December 16, 2022
I plan to stay on Twitter as long as I can rationalize doing so without breaking my moral compass. That said, I'm building my fallout shelter on Post and I suggest you do the same. Come find me. https://t.co/3uBy7kgl0R https://t.co/jaXaC9YXGd
— Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) December 12, 2022
Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in late October and has vowed to improve Twitter for both sides of the political spectrum. His release of the so-called Twitter files has also exposed the connections between Big Tech, the media and the federal government.
Jeff Poor is the executive editor of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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