On Sunday, The CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk, stated that he has prohibited Twitter identities that imitate others unless the impersonation is “clearly” labelled as parody.
Musk announced the decision through Twitter, writing,“Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.”
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022
Kathy Griffin’s Twitter profile was temporarily blocked when she and a slew of celebrities modified their username to “Elon Musk” in protest of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s influence over the social media site, which prompted Musk to take the new regulation seriously.
BREAKING: @KathyGriffin has been permanently suspended from Twitter for impersonating @ElonMusk pic.twitter.com/ust86DZHKj
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 6, 2022
Since Elon Musk took over as CEO of Twitter, several celebrities and well-known figures, such as Ken Ollin, Rob Reiner, Josh Gad, and others, have spoken publicly about their decision to leave the platform.
Even though actress Valerie Bertinelli from “One Day at a Time” and actor Brendan Fehr, who stars on “Roswell,” were also involved in the trend, it seems that they were able to escape punishment by changing their identities back in a timely way.
Following her participation in a fad on Twitter in which people began changing their display names to Elon Musk, the former cast member of My Life on the D-List was banned from accessing the social media platform. Griffin did not change her Twitter username, which remained “@kathygriffin” during the ordeal.
BREAKING: @KathyGriffin has been permanently suspended from Twitter for impersonating @ElonMusk pic.twitter.com/ust86DZHKj
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 6, 2022
“We are no longer all Elon Musk… … cause he locked those accounts,” Fehr wrote in a post on Sunday morning. “But don’t worry, he’s still perfectly fine with anyone tweeting lies and irresponsible conspiracies so all’s good and makes sense.”
At another place, Bertinelli changed her profile back, tweeting, “Okey-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point. I’m just not a ‘trending’ kind of gal. Never have been, never want to be.”
Okey-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point. 😬 I’m just not a ‘trending’ kind of gal. Never have been, never want to be.
Have a safe Sunday everyone! xo 🤍— valerie bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) November 6, 2022
Musk further stressed that in the future, accounts would not be given a warning before they are suspended, marking yet another shift from the prior policy of the social media site.
“Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning,” he wrote. “This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue.”
Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning.
This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022
According to Musk, “any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark.”
Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022
The new Twitter Blue subscription, which costs $7.99 per month, was initially released on Saturday.
However, according to a report published by the New York Times on Sunday, Twitter will postpone its new blue check subscription rollout until after Tuesday’s midterm elections due to concerns that the new plan could cause election misinformation.
What are your opinions on the new harsh restrictions that Elon Musk has implemented on Twitter, which include banning users and charging $7.99 per month for blue tick verifications? Let us know in the comment section below!
Chris Mack
