December 19, 2022

"A confrontation between a member of Elon Musk’s security team and an alleged stalker that Musk blamed on a Twitter account that tracked his jet..."

"... took place at a gas station 26 miles from Los Angeles International Airport and 23 hours after the @ElonJet account had last located the jet’s whereabouts. The timing and location of the confrontation cast doubt on Musk’s assertion that the account had posted real-time 'assassination coordinates' that threatened his family and led to the confrontation...."

WaPo reports. 

The incident last week triggered a major rewrite of Twitter’s rules and the suspensions of a half dozen journalists’ accounts, which were condemned by free-speech advocates. It also underscored how Musk’s personal concerns can influence his governance of a social media platform used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. As the sole owner of Twitter, Musk can dictate policies as he chooses. Musk disbanded Twitter’s board of directors, which at other companies might have influenced the company’s reaction to the incident, as well as its long-standing 'trust and safety' committee that had advised the social media platform on its policies. No executive at Twitter has the stature to balance Musk’s directives...."

WaPo has located and interviewed the person in the video Musk posted on Twitter:

In his conversations with The Post, [Brandon] Collado acknowledged he has an interest in Musk and the mother of two of Musk’s children, the musician known as Grimes, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher. Boucher lives in a house near the gas station. In his communications with The Post, Collado, who said he was a driver for Uber Eats, also made several bizarre and unsupported claims [about Boucher]....

Boucher and Musk didn't respond to WaPo's effort to get their side of this story, which has Collado interacting with Musk's children's mother through real-world encounters in the South Pasadena neighborhood, not gathering information through real-time location doxxing on Twitter.

On Sunday, Musk posted videos showing he was attending the World Cup championship game in Qatar. When some in the stands shared photos showing Musk in attendance, Twitter users noted that the details could be classified as real-time location information, like the kind Musk had labeled “assassination coordinates,” and were no longer allowed.

57 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...

I don't get ultra-wealthy people. If I was ultra-wealthy, and I had all the resources and money to be able to do it, I would use all of my power to enforce a bond villain level of anonymity. I would make my influence and my power so stealthy that the CIA and FBI would have difficulty knowing anything about me. I would work so deep behind the scenes and so mysteriously that Keyser Soze-like legends would morph to help explain unknown actions I took and fear people felt about what I might do next.

Fame is fucking gay. Anonymity, real anonymity, with power, is a difficult and a worthy challenge for the wealthy and intelligent gentleman.

I mean come on Elon...they already think you're the dark lord himself. How would doing the above actually change any of their opinions about you.

Lucien said...

Boy they’re trying sooo hard.

Bob Boyd said...

All these lefties acting outraged at Musk for censorship when they're actually angry at him for stopping censorship.

Investigate the laptop.

Owen said...

Wonderful to see WaPo doing brave relentless professional journalism, serving the public with the Inside Story of Spiteful Paranoid Tyrant Musk. This coverage will fill the space left empty by WaPo’s incuriosity about the FBI and DHS and WH running massive sustained disinformation operations on Twitter and presumably other social media platforms.

tim in vermont said...

So much MSM propaganda requires an obtuseness that can only be deliberate. Omission is one of the most powerful tools of rhetoric. Musk said that public events were not part of the restriction.

Beside, Twitter has a board, the millions of people who vote. This call for a traditional board is about placing a mole and regaining control of the platform. A while back Democrats used their power to demand board memberships for their operatives in major corporations, and now we see the result, these many years later, in that major corporations are basically extensions of the DNC, paying tribute annually in the form of contributions to PACs and candidates.

Dave Begley said...

As the sole owner of WaPo, Bezos can dictate policies as he chooses. He can order the so-called journalists at WaPo not to report on he biggest scandal in American political history. He can unleash evidence-free attacks on fellow billionaire Elon Musk. He can dictate no coverage of how Chinese slaves are essential to solar federal income tax credits.

Whiskeybum said...

The incident last week triggered a major rewrite of Twitter’s rules and the suspensions of a half dozen journalists’ accounts, which were condemned by free-speech advocates. (WaPo)

Wow - here we see one of the finest examples of gaslighting ever used.

Hey lefty 'free-speech advocates': didn't you get the memo that free-speech is now to be considered a 'far-right' attribute?

iowan2 said...

Wont go to WAPO.

But using this incidence is not proof something else did not happen. WAPO has proven on a daily basis, they lie to advance the approved narrative.
Paul Pelosi is just too fresh in all minds, to take anyting WAPO presents, that advances the narrative,

iowan2 said...

I would work so deep behind the scenes and so mysteriously that Keyser Soze-like legends would morph to help explain unknown actions I took and fear people felt about what I might do next.

Is that you Barack?

MikeR said...

It's amazing that an event can be so completely unambiguous, and human beings choose sides on how to look at it. This one is a no-brainer: Father flips out when he thinks his son is threatened, overreacts.
Not great but entirely understandable. But go ahead, everyone, pick your sides and choose your narrative. Or, maybe just a few people can take a step back and try out that empathy circuitry: How would I react?

Birches said...

WaPo didn't try this hard to investigate the Loundon County non binary rape situation. Interesting priorities.

Birches said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Achilles said...

The Washington Post is an evil organization.

Anyone supporting it should feel gross and slimy.

If you don't you have no conscience.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Just about anything out of WaPo(D) makes me want to gag. It's one-sided BS - filled with holes and half truths at best.

WaPo IS Taylor Lorenz.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Stop shopping at Amazon.

We need a new Amazon.

Birches said...

So interesting that a few days ago this same cabal of reporters thought Musk was making the whole thing up because there was no police report.

John henry said...

I think it is a a gigantic misdirection campaign. I don't do Twitter much but have become active mastodon in recent weeks johnrhenry@journa.host

Watching the fascist tears roll down is a beautiful thing.

Why misdirection? Twitter is becoming a bank of sorts. It has to do it under the radar to keep the fascists and their politician allies from blocking or delaying approval.

Once approved it will be much more difficult to rescind the approval than block the application.

Musk is just doing whatever he can to create fog. NOBODY talking about it. Just what a madman Musk is.

John Henry

Václav Patrik Šulik said...

I'm one of those "free speech advocates" - damn near absolute. I'm also a father. I understand Musk - if someone was using something I had control over to stalk and harass my family, I'd shut them down. Musk isn't the hypocrite - it's the Taylor Lorenz's of the world, who will dox someone they disagree with, but who gets all weepy about anyone looking at her background. Screw Taylor Lorenz.

Even now, the WaPo is putting all its resources into trying to minimize the stalking and harassment. Screw the Post.

I'm also reminded of CNN's Bernard Shaw questioning of Michael Dukakis in 1988 Presidential Debate. It's not just a hypothetical. You need to have some emotion.

Sometimes reality is a punch in the mouth with a lead pipe.

Temujin said...

"WaPo has located and interviewed the person in the video Musk posted on Twitter:"

But they still cannot locate Tony Bobulinski.
Or our Southern border.

John henry said...

Tim, Twitter does have a board. Musk is the sole member. The state requires a board, corporate bylaws say how many members. Right now, they say 1

John Henry

hombre said...

Who you gonna believe Musk or WaPo?

It is unlikely that either knows for sure. Nevertheless, if the choice must be made....

richlb said...

I wish Musk would have bought the LA Times and released the Khalidi tape.

Michael said...

Musk is the new Trump for the MSM. Just in time.

Michael said...

Musk is the new Trump for the MSM. Just in time.

Michael said...

Tin in Vermont. Twitter is no longer a public company. Although many private companies have boards Twitter does not.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

WaPoo (D)

"the confrontation cast doubt on Musk’s assertion"

The leftwingers are WaPoo have spoken.

Leland said...

This particular stalker was using other means to stalk Musk's family. Well then, I guess Musk shouldn't block alternatives others are promoting.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Why believe the WaPo?

SeanF said...

"The timing and location of the confrontation cast doubt on Musk’s assertion that the account had posted real-time 'assassination coordinates' that threatened his family and led to the confrontation...."

The details of this confrontation cast doubts on the assertion that the postings led to this confrontation, for sure. They do not, however, cast doubts on the assertion that the account "had posted real-time 'assassination coordinates' that threatened his family". They are not evidence either way in that regard.

Howard said...

Soap opera entertainment is the reserve currency of politics.

Gahrie said...

Where is the story about the Left-wing lawyers who are investigating Musk's citizenship papers, trying to find a "lie", so they can strip Elon of his citizenship and deport him?

Gahrie said...

If I was Elon, I'd hire a bunch of detectives and start posting real time locations of Leftwingers and their families to see how they like it.

But I'm petty that way.

Gahrie said...

Why believe the WaPo?

Cognitive dissonance.

Anthony said...

I admit that I read 'cast doubt on', then saw 'WaPo reports' and stopped reading after that. It's not a 'news' paper and I don't feel like wasting my time reading their drivel.

I mean, I appreciate the occasional fisking, but I still think Why Even Bother?

Aggie said...

Imagine, just imagine what kind of results this dogged, shoe-leather journalism might have uncovered, had it been laser-focused on Hunter Biden's laptop in the middle of a Presidential campaign. But fame ain't for everybody when the Borg is yer boss.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

I'm sure the dumping of the files on Twitter-FBI is a great public service, although it looks like the media and Swamp have no interest because, of course, they are all implicated.

Is Musk now suggesting that doxxing is always bad, a potential threat to specific individuals, and something should be done about it? Sounds reasonable to me.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

"The timing and location of the confrontation cast doubt on Musk’s assertion that the account had posted real-time 'assassination coordinates' that threatened his family and led to the confrontation."

Well, no, that just doesn't follow at all; that's bad logic. It might "cast doubt" on Musk's assertion that it "led to the confrontation," but it doesn't at all cast doubt on whether the jet tracker account posted real-time location info for Musk or his family. That's a fact and how that fact is interpreted or used doesn't cast doubt on the fact itself.

Is that just sloppy writing or do the alleged journalists at the Washington Post actually think this way (that material facts can be refuted by subsequent incorrect use/interpretation of those facts)?

Joe Smith said...

'I don't get ultra-wealthy people. If I was ultra-wealthy, and I had all the resources and money to be able to do it, I would use all of my power to enforce a bond villain level of anonymity.'

I've always believed that being rich and anonymous is the best possible way to go.

But that only works if you have 'only' $50M or $100M.

Once you're a billionaire and are (or was) the richest man on earth, that all goes out the window...

Joe Smith said...

Btw, his company, his rules.

Daniel12 said...

MikeR:
"This one is a no-brainer: Father flips out when he thinks his son is threatened, overreacts.
Not great but entirely understandable. But go ahead, everyone, pick your sides and choose your narrative. Or, maybe just a few people can take a step back and try out that empathy circuitry: How would I react?"

With great power comes great responsibility.

Rusty said...

It's the WaPo people. People that read the WaPo need hall monitors.

Matt said...

This is the part that makes the story topsy turvey: “Among Collado’s disturbing comments to the Post were his beliefs that “Boucher was sending him coded messages through her Instagram posts; that Musk was monitoring his real-time location; and that Musk could control Uber Eats to block him from receiving delivery orders.””

This dude is definitely weirder than Musk. But tying this incident to ElonJet is inaccurate yet it makes a good story because it fits a narrative pattern that seems like something that could happen. Therefore in Musk’s mind (and those of his followers) it did. I have no issue with ElonJet being banned but the suspension of reporters who linked the tweet to their story was an overreaction and erratic. Especially because he reversed his position so fast. He also reversed his decision on allowing a mention of links to other social media. This is no way to run a business. Although I guess he’s getting lots of free press coverage. What would Howard Hughes do?

rcocean said...

The Wapo. and the 2nd richest man in America must be scared of free speech. Its expected that the Wapo would protect Antifa and leftwing criminals from paying a price for stalking Ellon Musk and threatening him. Oooh, did it REALLY happen, lets investigate!

The Wapo editors and their reporters, when not screeching to high heaven about being "unsafe" when criticized, smirk and laugh at violence against their supposed Republican and "Righwting" enemies.

I don't believe anything the Wapo writes, unless its been fact checked by a real journalist.

And if someone wants to play Pontius Pilate, and say "Both sides are wrong". Go for it. No one cares. A loser is a loser.

cubanbob said...

One way and perhaps the best way to stop doxing by the jorno-lists would be to have them doxed and their ultimate bosses such as Bezos, Sulzberger and Soros doxed. Freeze it, personalize it and ridicule it is the progressive way.

Michael K said...

Another WaPoo scoop. "Elon Musk is a bad guy. Take our word for it."

Jupiter said...

Jeff Bezos has been reached for comment.

Critter said...

I don't even need the details. It's just fun to see the Left whining over new ownership of Twitter.

n.n said...

Doxed, swatted, occupied, some, select lives matter... no soup for you.

That said, origin, intent, and scope.

n.n said...

Fame is fucking gay.

Full of joy, merry; light-hearted, carefree.

Jim at said...

With great power comes great responsibility.

And just what 'great power' does Musk have that gives you leftist thugs permission to threaten his family?

readering said...

Usual empty comments slagging Washington Post after it follows Musk's leads to get to the bottom of his frantic doxing claim. Nothing there, as any regular user of LAX would know.

Another old lawyer said...

A couple of Bill Murray quotes on being rich and famous that are insightful.

"I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: 'try being rich first'. See if that doesn't cover most of it. There's not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes and having your relatives ask you for money. But when you become famous, you end up with a 24-hour job.”


"There’s only a couple times when fame is ever helpful. Sometimes you can get into a restaurant where the kitchen is just closing. Sometimes you can avoid a traffic violation. But the only time it really matters is in the emergency room with your kids. That’s when you want to be noticed, because it’s very easy to get forgotten in an ER. It’s the only time when I would ever say, “Thank God. Thank God.” There’s no other time."

Nancy Reyes said...

Just wondering: has this guy been arrested for stalking and endangering a child?

Greg The Class Traitor said...

The incident last week triggered a major rewrite of Twitter’s rules and the suspensions of a half dozen journalists’ accounts, which were condemned by free-speech advocates

Yes, Musk changed the rules to "no real time doxxing"

What lead to the suspensions of a half dozen journalists’ accounts was them working to get around Twitter's new TOS that they KNEW had changed.
Which is to say they played FAFO

And the only "free-speech advocates" who condemned those suspensions were either morons or liars, who pretended that the suspensions were a "surprise".

They ONLY reason to be sharing the URL of the new "Musk tracker" on Twitter was because you knew that the Musk Tracking account had been shut down. Otherwise you'd share the account.

And since every single one of the creatures who got suspended had previously supported suspending others for far less, you can't believe in justice, and oppose them getting hit

Mason G said...

"This is no way to run a business."

So- "Twitter's a private company, they can do what they want" is no longer operative?

Greg The Class Traitor said...

Nancy Reyes said...
Just wondering: has this guy been arrested for stalking and endangering a child?

In LA?

With Soros prosecutor Gascon in charge?

No, he'll never be charged with anything

Achilles said...

Nancy Reyes said...
Just wondering: has this guy been arrested for stalking and endangering a child?

The Regime does not punish it's violent political operatives.