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It was the first day of February, just a few days after a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane above the Potomac River. Then, a small plane crashed into multiple buildings in Philadelphia. Amid what must have been a deluge of media inquiries, the National Transportation Safety Board announced on its X account: “For media covering the airplane crashes in Washington and Philadelphia—all NTSB updates about news conferences or other investigative information will be posted to this X account. We will not be distributing information via email.”
Some pointed out that the NTSB—an independent federal agency by law—was ditching email in favor of a platform controlled by the president’s best buddy and political benefactor. Five hours later, having seen people making this point, the NTSB replied to its own post that its decision was to “better manage the volume of incoming emails” relating to press briefing details. “This is not a change in policy,” the agency said in a quote post of itself, noting that it could not reply to every email.
It was a walk back. The NTSB first claimed that “investigative information” would go on its X account and that it would “not be distributing informatio...
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