X suspends journalist after debunking theory Elon Musk fan account was Musk himself
CNN
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A journalist said Sunday her X account was suspended and links to a recent article of hers were blocked on the platform after she published a piece debunking online theories that an Elon Musk fan account was actually the billionaire himself.
The journalist, Jacqueline Sweet, wrote a piece for the UK magazine The Spectator, laying out how and why an X account belonging to a man who apparently lives in Fiji is not actually Musk.
The man, Adrian Dittmann, who goes by the same name on X has regularly posted positively about Musk and his exploits. He also sounds eerily like Musk, having engaged with the technology mogul several times on various X "Spaces" conversations. Both marveled at the similarity in their voices, with Dittmann at one point telling Musk he grew up all over the place and that he lives in Oceania, but that he did not want to reveal more information out of fear people would come after him.
In recent days, various outlets have picked up on questions over whether Musk has been secretly masquerading on X as the alternate identity. But Sweet, along with a Swiss hacker/developer known as maia arson crimew and journalist Ryan Fae, investigated who was actually behind Dittmann's accounts, determining he was in fact, a man named Adrian Dittmann who seems to live in Fiji.
After Sweet posted a link to her story on X reporting that Musk was not Dittmann, the billionaire X owner jokingly replied, "I am Adrian Dittmann. It's time the world knew."
Following the interaction, Sweet said her account was suspended. The Swiss hacker and Fae said the same. And as of Monday afternoon, links to The Spectator article as well as the Swiss hacker and Fae's blog post could not be posted on X or sent via the platform's direct message feature.
The reasons given for such a block make it sound like technical issues.
"Something went wrong, but don't fret, let's give it another shot," a notice on X says when users try to post The Spectator link.
When sent via direct message, X says instead, "This request looks like it might be automated. To protect our users from spam and other malicious activity, we can't complete this action right now. Please try again later."
Sweet wrote Sunday on the rival social platform Bluesky that her post Musk was replying to had been taken down and that her account was suspended for 30 days. In a screenshot of a message Sweet said she received from X, the platform said she had been suspended for violating X's rules related to "Posting Private Information."
"It is against our rules to share someone's private information online without their permission, sometimes called ‘doxing,' is a breach of their privacy and can pose serious safety and security risks for those affected," the note states.
Sweet denied that she had doxxed Dittmann.
"I think Elon is mad I ruined his stupid game of laughing at his critics who believe Adrian Dittmann is his alt, and took his toys and went home," Sweet wrote on Bluesky.
Matt McDonald, US managing editor of The Spectator, wrote in an article Monday that the story gathered together "many pieces of public information" in order to "challenge and debunk a widely circulating conspiracy theory." McDonald noted the piece did not feature any of Dittman's private information such as a phone number or email, or any photos not already viewable online.
"It's not so much about who Adrian Dittmann is as about who he isn't: presenting the case that Dittmann is not, in fact, secretly the richest man in the world is clearly in the public interest and has news value, particularly considering Musk's recently developed interest in government and international affairs," McDonald wrote.
"It cannot be considered ‘unmasking' to suggest that someone called Adrian Dittmann uses an X account bearing the name ‘Adrian Dittmann,' he continued.
X did not return a request for comment.
Dittmann for his part, has posted on X stating he is not Elon Musk.
