X Blocks Reporter for ‘Unsafe’ Adrian Dittmann Story on Elon Musk
X has restricted the account of journalist Jacqueline Sweet after she reported in The Spectator that X owner Elon Musk is not Adrian Dittmann, a pro-Musk user who has been rumored to be the world’s richest man’s secret account.
Sweet, according to a screenshot shared by The Spectator editor Matt McDonald on Sunday, is blocked from posting on Twitter for 30 days for violating one of the platform’s rules — presumably X’s rule against doxxing. Sweet will only be able to send direct messages on X during the restriction period, and she was required to delete three posts tied to her Dittmann story, which you can read here.
“No posts, reposts, follows, or likes,” X’s violation notice told Sweet, according to McDonald’s screenshot.
On top of that, X is making it tougher for users to click the link to The Spectator’s story. X users are told the story “may be unsafe” when they go to click it, saying it may “mislead people” or violate the site’s rules. Here’s a look at what that “unsafe” notification looks like:
X did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for more information on why Sweet’s account has been restricted and why the story has been labeled unsafe.
Adrian Dittmann has long been rumored to be Musk’s alter-ego on X. The Dittmann account has shared several pro-Musk posts in the past, including one now-deleted post in which he said, “Elon is a father who gets lots of sex. He will never stoop to the lows of anger and posting emotionally like a lot of people expected him to.”
The Spectator’s report, which ran on Saturday, provided evidence as to why Musk may not be the man behind the Dittmann account.
“No, ‘Adrian Dittmann’ on X is not Elon. He appears to be, in fact, Adrian Dittmann, a German Musk fan living in Fiji,” Sweet wrote in her initial story.
X’s blocking of The Spectator’s report stands out, considering Musk was critical of the platform — when it was known as Twitter and being run by Jack Dorsey — for censoring The New York Post’s report on Hunter Biden’s laptop in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election. Musk called the decision “incredibly inappropriate” in 2022, the same year he bought the social media service for $44 billion.
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