X Suspends Journalist after Debunking the Theory that Elon Musk Fan Account was Musk Himself

By Evans Momodu
2 minute digest


A journalist, Jacqueline Sweet, reported that her account on X (formerly Twitter) was suspended and links to her recent article in The Spectator were blocked after she debunked online theories that an Elon Musk fan account was actually Musk himself.

Sweet's article detailed how a man named Adrian Dittmann, who apparently lives in Fiji and posts on X under his real name, is not Musk.

Dittmann's posts often praise Musk and his ventures, and their voices bear a striking resemblance, a fact they both commented on during X “Spaces” conversations.

Despite conspiracy theories suggesting Musk was using Dittmann’s account as an alias, Sweet and others investigated and confirmed Dittmann’s identity.

Sweet posted a link to her article, and Musk jokingly replied, “I am Adrian Dittmann. It’s time the world knew.” Shortly after, Sweet's account was suspended, as were accounts belonging to a Swiss hacker known as Maia Arson Crimew and journalist Ryan Fae, who also contributed to debunking the theory.

Attempts to share links to The Spectator article or related blog posts on X or via direct messages were blocked, with the platform citing technical issues.

Sweet shared on Bluesky that her suspension was for allegedly violating X's rules against “Posting Private Information,” which she denies. She stated that no private information about Dittmann was shared in her article, a claim echoed by Matt McDonald, U.S. managing editor of The Spectator.

McDonald emphasized that the article compiled publicly available information to challenge a conspiracy theory, which he argued was in the public interest.

Sweet accused Musk of retaliating. “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,” she wrote on Bluesky.

X has not responded to requests for comment.
Source: CNN