Donald Trump’s presidential campaign partnered with billionaire Elon Musk to banish a file on JD Vance from X, the social media platform owned by the tech entrepreneur.
A reporter who published the sensitive 271-page report was also kicked off the site, according to various media outlets.
The report was compiled by the former president’s team while vetting potential running mates.
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The campaign was anxious to have the information in the dossier protected after it was uploaded by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, the New York Times reported.
The materials published by Klippenstein on his Substack in September appear to be related to a hack of the Trump campaign earlier this year, which the FBI has linked to Iran. Klippenstein’s X account was restored following The Times’ report.
Ironically, Musk calls himself an advocate for free speech.
Klippenstein wrote about the latest update on the blog, asserting that Musk had purchased political influence and “is wielding that influence in increasingly brazen ways.”
He added, “The Trump campaign claims that my publication of the Vance dossier constitutes election interference. The real election interference here is that a social media corporation can decree certain information unfit for the American electorate.
“Two of our most sacred rights as Americans are the freedoms of speech and assembly, online or otherwise. It is a national humiliation that these rights can be curtailed by anyone with enough digits in their bank account.”
One reader posted on the blog that they had subscribed to Klippenstein’s Substack “because of your courage to stand up to bullies like Musk and Trump.”
