CBS Cites ‘Abundance of Caution’ as Company Announces Exit From Twitter

The CBS headquarters seen in New York City, on Aug. 2, 2013. Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Media outlet CBS News has announced that it is suspending the use of its Twitter accounts just weeks after billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media platform, becoming the first major media entity to take such an action.

During a recent segment titled “Twitter Turmoil,” CBS national correspondent Johnathan Vigliotti insisted that Musk offers “little reassurance” that he has a permanent plan for the social media platform. The report went on to cite a disgruntled former Twitter employee from the company who blamed Musk for creating a “culture of fear and uncertainty” at the firm. In the middle of the segment, Vigliotti announced the media outlet’s new position on using Twitter.

“In light of the uncertainty around Twitter, and out of an abundance of caution, CBS News is pausing its activity on the social media site as it continues to monitor the platform,” he said. The official Twitter account of CBS News, which has over 8.8 million followers, is currently active, with the last few posts made on Nov. 19.

Musk had earlier said that the reason he acquired Twitter is to create a common online space where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner.

The media outlet’s move has attracted criticism online. Curtis Hock, managing director at NewsBusters, called the decision “pure idiocy.”

“CBS News quitting Twitter because they think @ElonMusk will allow hackers or something into their accounts is so weak. This is so stupid my head hurts,” he said in a Nov. 19 tweet.

Stephen L Miller, a contributing editor at The Spectator, pointed out that Twitter does not belong to CBS and that “they are going to learn this in a very hard way.”

Reinstating Trump and Conservatives

CBS’ decision comes as Twitter reactivated the accounts of multiple conservatives, including former President Donald Trump. Musk had held an online poll on Twitter, asking users whether Trump’s account needed to be reinstated.

With 15.08 million total votes, 51.8 percent supported bringing the former president back to the platform. On Nov. 20, Musk announced that Trump will be reinstated as the “people have spoken.” It is unclear whether Trump intends to return to Twitter.

Musk has also announced the reinstatement of traditionalist Jordan Peterson, an intellectual and psychologist. The Babylon Bee’s Twitter account is also back on the platform.

The billionaire has reinstated the account of leftist comedian Kathy Griffin as well who had earlier held a severed head of Trump as part of a photo shoot.

Musk’s Twitter acquisition is also making waves in Germany where a public satirical program compared him with Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

During the Nazi regime, Goebbels headed the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and was responsible for mass censorship in the country.

The mockery has been criticized by German politicians. In an interview with Bild, politician Christoph de Vries called the comparison “anything but funny.”

“You don’t have to agree with Musk’s commitment to freedom of expression, but a comparison to Nazism, where people were killed for dissenting opinions, is completely wrong—even for a satirical show,” he said.