Elon Musk's company, X, limits access to a report detailing suspected Russian military atrocity
Revised Article:
In the bloody aftermath of a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile striking a children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8, taking the lives of at least three innocent kids and injuring 16 others, a baffling roadblock emerged for those eager to access a comprehensive article that laid out the irrefutable evidence proving Russia's guilt. Anyone attempting to click the link leading them to this damning exposé was met with an odd roadblock on a popular social media platform.
"The link you're trying to access has been flagged by our system or our partners as potentially spammy or hazardous, in accordance with our platform's policies," the message sternly warned.
The heart-wrenching story was meticulously pieced together by Bellingcat, a decorous decade-old web portal dedicated to uncovering the hard truths of war zones and disinformation across the globe. The site has carved out a reputation for itself as a reliable and credible source for shedding light on war, lies, and extremist movements worldwide. Its findings have been instrumental in guiding human rights courts, contributing to the prosecution of war crimes, and shaping global narratives.
However, underlying this digital juggernaut is a longstanding feud with the platform's owner, Elon Musk. Musk, who fancies himself a free speech advocate, has, on numerous occasions, dismissed Bellingcat's work as a surgical operation designed to manipulate public opinion. Following their reporting on the Neo-Nazi connections of a notorious mass shooter in 2023, Musk derided Bellingcat, labeling their work as either the strangest tale ever concocted or a shadows-laden psyop.
After the Russian missile obliterated the children's hospital, pro-Russian propagandists flooded social media with deceptive videos purporting to show the missile was, in actuality, an American-made weapon. In the face of overwhelming evidence—pictures of the missile moments before impact, expert analysis, and tireless sifting through data by Bellingcat—it was quickly revealed that the Kh-101 had, indeed, been launched by the Russian military.
In a first for the illustrious organization, content from their investigation had been actively restricted on the popular social media platform. Bellingcat has previously crossed swords with Musk but has never encountered this level of censorship.
Musk, self-proclaimed freedom of speech crusader, has a history of locking horns with dissenting voices on the platform. Among these high-profile battles was his lengthy feud with Jack Sweeney, a college student who used publicly available flight records to track the real-time movements of the private jets of the wealthy elite.
Upon learning of the censorship, Bellingcat lodged two separate reports with the platform's official channels, but, to date, they have yet to receive a response. "We received automated responses confirming our case number, but suspect we won't get a personal response to our individual report," said Charlotte Maher, Bellingcat's Social Media Editor, in an email to a tech outlet.
Maher pointed out that Bellingcat frequently shares links with information about other conflicts that aren't flagged by the platform, citing their recent coverage of the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Myanmar. "It's rather curious that our Kh-101 report would be flagged while other, similar reports receive no such treatment," she mused.
When reached for comment, the social media platform responded with an automated message, "Currently unavailable, please check back later."
Back when the platform was still owned by Twitter, it was a bustling hub for open-source investigators to mingle with policymakers, government officials, and other interested parties. While far from perfect, the platform was more open and free-flowing than it has been in recent years under Musk's ever-evolving reign.
"The seemingly random and frequent changes in the platform's policies have made it increasingly challenging to plan content and gauge its potential impact," Maher lamented. "The platform was—and still is, to a certain extent—a crucial audience space for us, serving as a prime platform for collaboration and investigations among members of the open-source research community."
LATEST UPDATE 7/10/24 at 4:06pm: Following the publication of this article, the link to Bellingcat's investigation on the Russian Kh-101 missile strike in Kyiv has been restored. The warning message that had previously blocked users from accessing the article has now vanished. Bellingcat's Social Media Editor, Charlotte Maher, confirmed the situation with the following tweet, "The link to our Kh-101 reporting is no longer flagged on X. What a relief!"
- Bellingcat's investigation into the Russian Kh-101 missile strike in Kyiv was restricted on a popular social media platform, marking a first for the organization.
- Despite lodging two reports with the platform's official channels, Bellingcat has yet to receive a response regarding the censorship of their Kh-101 report.
- Charlotte Maher, Bellingcat's Social Media Editor, has expressed concerns about the platform's seemingly random and frequent changes in policies, making it challenging to plan content and gauge its potential impact.
- The link to Bellingcat's investigation on the Russian Kh-101 missile strike in Kyiv has been restored following the publication of this article, with the warning message that had previously blocked users now vanished.
