Despite promising to keep “freedom of expression” alive on Twitter only days ago after becoming its new owner, Elon Musk recently banned several users and deleted their tweets. This is a direct contradiction to his earlier statements about comedy, irony, and pranks being allowed on the site.
As of today, Monday, Twitter will be implementing a new policy that we announced in a series of tweets. This strict amendment has already begun to be put into place.
The American billionaire explained that after Twitter witnessed a wave of criticism and sarcastic jokes, the famous platform will now ban any account that impersonates another. This was in response to the comedians, writers, and other celebrities who have been protesting against his purchase of the social media site as well as the “8 dollar price” for documented accounts.
As the Tesla boss said, “From now on, any Twitter account that is trying to impersonate someone will be get banned permanently, unless the account owner specifies that it’s just a parody.”
Additionally, he noted that there will be no advance warning when such a violation occurs.
His first victim
The first target of this amendment was comedian Kathy Griffin, who renamed her account (with two million followers) to “Elon Musk”. This provoked a prompt response from the real Elon Mask, which in turn generated fresh waves of criticism against him.
Sarcastic reply
In a comment on the tweet of an American journalist, Elon returned and confirmed that Griffin’s account had been suspended. His tone indicated that he did not find the matter amusing.
Actually, she was suspended for impersonating a comedian
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
To offer her the option to recover her account for $8, which is the price that will be imposed on verified accounts bearing the blue tick in coming days.
In June 2017, Griffin made headlines and caused a stir with then President Donald Trump. She posed for a photo holding his head covered in (fake) blood which resulted in intense public backlash against her. A tearful press conference followed in which she issued an apology, saying she knew her career might be over.
Her corporate sponsors lost their jobs, including her role as co-anchor of CNN’s New Year’s Eve celebrations with journalist Anderson Cooper.
The photo of Griffin with the bloody head that strikingly resembled Trump was “disgusting” to him and hurtful for his family, especially 11-year-old Barron. Following suit, Donald Jr., Trump’s eldest son, has called on employers to fire the comedian.
“My future looks bleak after this,” said Griffin, a two-time Emmy winner known for her comedic style. “To be honest, (Trump) broke me.”
 to "Elon Musk". This provoked a prompt response){kind=link}