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| Elon Musk banned impersonators on Twitter without the parody label, raising questions about his commitment to free speech |
After several celebrities and Blue Check verified Twitter users changed their accounts to impersonate the social network's new owner, Elon Musk, it called for a swift change in policy enforcement.
Musk wrote on Sunday that moving forward, Twitter will now permanently suspend impersonators' accounts without warning if they aren't clearly labeled as parodies.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, the CEOs of Tesla, SpaceX and now Twitter appeared to change their minds about the permanent ban.
In May, after agreeing to buy Twitter, Musk argued against a lifetime ban and said he would ban Donald Trump. Twitter banned the former president in the wake of the January 6, 2021 uprising at the US Capitol, fearing that Trump's tweets would incite further violence. Trump has said he will not return to Twitter.
Before Musk closed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Oct. 28, the social network's rules specified that users, "mislead, confuse, or deceive individuals, groups, or organizations." Cannot impersonate someone, or use a fake identity in a way that disrupts others' experience on Twitter."
The company previously required that users engaged in parody, "distinguish themselves in both their account name and bio."
Twitter previously said it would take one of three actions in response to impersonators, including: "profile moderation," "temporary suspension," or "permanent suspension." The platform typically won't permanently ban a user for impersonating an account before Musk's takeover.
As of Sunday evening, Twitter had not yet updated its terms of service to reflect Musk's direction.
The decision by "Chief Tweet," as he jokingly calls himself, has sparked controversy and concern, given that Musk describes himself as a free-speech autocrat.
Last week, he joined activists, including civil rights leaders, who called on advertisers to freeze spending on Twitter until Musk can prove the company can deliver on its trust and safety promises under his leadership. Is.
When Musk appeared at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters on October 27, online trolls and bigots stormed the social network, polluting it with a deluge of racist slurs and other hate speech. Twitter took appropriate action in response, the researchers said, but it should have been proactive and tried to stop the raid.
Verification changes:
After that gauntlet, Musk implemented massive headcount cuts at Twitter, laying off about 3,700 people across departments including the dismissal of content moderation, and other trust and security specialists. A key focus for this is to redesign the platform's subscription product and authentication system.
Endorsements, in the form of blue checks, were reserved for public figures such as politicians and celebrities who were highly likely to be impersonated by bad actors. Now, Musk plans to make the authentication token available to anyone who pays $7.99 a month for Twitter Blue, a subscription product.
The verification changes encouraged mockery and impersonation from those who believed it would complicate rather than help Twitter users looking for good information and authentic accounts on the platform.
Kathy Griffin, one of the comedians impersonating Musk over the weekend, had her account suspended on Sunday. He changed his display name to Elon Musk and his profile picture, then wrote in a tweet, “After a very passionate discussion with the women in my life, I have decided that blue is the color of choice for them. It's only fair to vote for . (There are sexy women too)
The account of actor Rich Sommer, known for his role as Harry Crane on AMC's "Mad Men," was also suspended after he changed his display name and profile picture to impersonate Musk.
Pretending to speak as Musk on Twitter, Sommer said Friday, "I'm in over my head. Can 44 billion of you send $1 each to Twitter, pay attention to me? He added more later. "Well, time to employ Plan B because they're forcing me to have Twitter," he said solemnly. Does anyone know any advertisers who are not 'real racist' as in racist!! Just advertise to people who are, you know, curious about what it's all about (racism)."
Twitter and Elon Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment or confirmation on whether Sommer and Griffin were permanently banned.
Others who impersonated Musk included actress Valerie Bertinelli, who on Saturday changed her display name to Elon Musk, then posted tweets asking her followers to vote for the Democratic candidate.
Sarah Silverman, comedian, author and host of "I Love You, America" also changed her display name and avatar image to look like Elon Musk. She was then seen speaking in the voice of Musk, who wrote a juvenile rant, "I'm the totalitarian of free speech and I eat Doody for breakfast every day."
Bertinelli changed his profile before Twitter took any explicit action against his account. "Okey-dokey I've had my fun and I think I've made my point. I'm just not a 'trending' kind of girl. Never have been, never want to be," she wrote on Sunday morning. Have a safe Sunday everyone! xo"
Silverman remained on the platform, only returning to use her image and display name after Twitter locked her account. In a post to her 12 million registered fans and followers on Sunday, Silverman wrote: "1) 9 days ago, 2) yesterday 3) today. We have fun," attaching three photos.
In one photo, Musk wrote, referring to a promise he made to his followers on Oct. 28 that "comedy is now legal on Twitter," shortly after he bought the platform. Others pointed to his mocking tweet, and that it sparked the ban.
Musk defended himself against critics who see his new enforcement directive as going against free speech values on Sunday. "My commitment to free speech extends to not banning my account after my flight, even though it is a direct threat to personal safety," he wrote.
Jack Sweeney, a college student, created a Twitter account using publicly available data that updates automatically to show where Musk's frequent flights on his private jet are. Musk pressured Sweeney and even offered to pay him to take down the flight tracker, but it's still on Twitter.
On Sunday, after calling for a ban on impersonators without the parody label, Musk also tried to shift the focus away from free speech. "Twitter needs to be the most accurate source of information about the world ever. That's our mission.
