X blocks access to Vance's leaked documents and freezes journalists' accounts



X has blocked the account of a journalist who published documents allegedly leaked from Donald Trump's campaign and banned the URL containing the documents across its platforms, explaining that the reason for this was 'for violating our rules regarding posting unredacted personal information.'

X blocks links to hacked JD Vance dossier - The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/26/24255298/elon-musk-x-blocks-jd-vance-dossier

X suspends journalist Ken Klippenstein after he published JD Vance dossier
https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-suspends-journalist-ken-klippenstein-after-he-published-jd-vance-dossier-214219066.html

The documents in question were prepared by the Donald Trump campaign to investigate Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance. The documents were leaked for some reason around July 2024, and the Trump campaign and the FBI have launched an investigation into the possibility of hacking. The Trump campaign claims that it was an attack by Iran, but no evidence has been found.

FBI launches investigation into possible hacking of Donald Trump campaign and leak of internal documents - GIGAZINE



The document was sent to multiple media organizations by an individual who goes by the name 'Robert,' and some of the organizations that reviewed its contents acknowledged that it was 'highly likely to be authentic.' However, many organizations refrained from disclosing its contents due to the possibility that it was leaked through a hacking scheme and the fact that it contains personal information.

However, Ken Klippenstein, an independent journalist, posted the document on his website, citing that it was of great public interest during the election season. When he publicized the matter on X, his account was frozen.

Regarding the reason for the disciplinary action, X's safety team explained that 'he was temporarily suspended for violating our rules regarding posting unredacted personal information, including most of Senator Vance's address and Social Security number.'




In addition to Klippenstein's account being frozen, the URL where the document was posted, 'https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/read-the-jd-vance-dossier,' has been banned across all platforms. For example, searching for the URL returns nothing.



When I try to post a URL, it fails with the message 'This request can't be completed because the link has been identified as potentially harmful by X or a partner. Visit our Help Center for more information.'



Some X users have reported having their accounts temporarily suspended simply for posting screenshots of investment-related pages that have no personal information.




Klippenstein, whose account was suspended, wrote on his website, 'I don't believe it is the job of the news media to tamper with documents as if they were the government deciding what the public should and shouldn't know. I know it is common practice to remove personal information from leaks and classified documents, but in this case Vance is not only an elected official and vice presidential candidate, but the information is easily available for purchase by anyone. The document states, 'We conducted our investigation based on all readily available records, including hundreds of news archives and various government resources,' which shows that all information is easily available (not just to me). I believe it is the job of the media to fight back against this form of censorship.'

Before being acquired by Elon Musk, X (then Twitter) had a policy regarding hacked materials, which explicitly prohibited posting or linking to such content. Under this policy, a link to a New York Post article reporting on President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was banned for 'containing personal information leaked through hacking,' leading to the New York Post account being temporarily frozen. However, Twitter revised its policy in response to backlash, and then-CEO Jack Dorsey apologized , saying, 'It was a mistake to block URLs so straightforwardly.'

Musk, who was a Twitter user at the time, was one of those unhappy with the link ban, saying it was 'clearly and highly inappropriate to suspend the accounts of major news organizations for publishing truthful stories.'




Following the incident, Musk invited journalist Matt Taibbi to conduct an investigation and released the so-called 'Twitter Files,' which revealed information such as Twitter's prioritization of removal requests from Democrats. As part of this process, Taibbi published the email addresses (personal information) of several people, including Congressman Ro Khanna, on Twitter, and the posts in question are still available to view at the time of writing.

The internal document 'Twitter Files' endorsed by Elon Musk reveals that Twitter prioritized deletion requests from Democrats and hid Biden's son's corruption, and will also expose 'shadow bans' in the future - GIGAZINE



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