Local NASA ambassador kicked off of Twitter months ago, still doesn't know why
MARION, Iowa — An eastern Iowa man who serves as an ambassador for NASA says he has been unable to post on Twitter for more than five months, and never got an explanation why. Mark Brown of Marion contacted Iowa's News Now after watching our story about the Mason City Globe Gazette, which was permanently suspended by Twitter this week, before the account was reinstated Friday afternoon. In a comment on Twitter, a representative of the company called the suspension of the Globe Gazette a "mistake," but did not elaborate further as to the cause.
In Brown's case, the suspension has already gone on for months, preventing him from sharing his usual pictures and information about space and science. Brown says he was permanently suspended by Twitter on November 14th, less than 48 hours after the biggest space launch in a generation, the flight of Artemis-I.
Brown says it stopped him from sharing information about the mission with his followers. "I post images about space phenomena; I post my own imagery that I capture through my telescopes and cameras." Brown also shared updates on the James Webb Space Telescope and the runup to the Artemis-I mission.
We have failed to find any traditional way of reaching Twitter's corporate operations since the once-public company was made private when Elon Musk purchased the company. Since then, there have been a multitude of problems, particularly on the technical side, as the billionaire now tries to turn the social media giant into a profitable operation.
Right now, Twitter is also under fire for its decision to stop allowing users to secure their account with what's known as two-factor authorization. The common security feature will now only be made available to paying subscribers. The company says its offering other security options for users who choose not to pay for Twitter, but experts fear millions will not take the extra steps, further opening the door for hackers to exploit users' information in the future.
