Twitter has recently deleted the account of actor-comedian Kathy Griffin for impersonating the company’s CEO after she switched her display name to Elon Musk, besides making an appeal on her Twitter handle to support the Democratic candidates in the US midterm election.
A screengrab of Ms. Griffin’s tweet went viral, which reads, “After much-spirited discussion with the females in my life. I have decided that voting blue for their choice is only right.”
Comedian Kathy Griffin has been suspended on Twitter for impersonating Elon Musk. pic.twitter.com/I1dJOvCnmu
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 7, 2022
BREAKING: @KathyGriffin has been permanently suspended from Twitter for impersonating @ElonMusk pic.twitter.com/ust86DZHKj
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 6, 2022
The suspension of comedian Griffin’s account has sparked a widespread uproar over Musk’s move and accused him of cracking down on free speech. Replying to a tweet from Benny Johnson, Twitter’s new boss wrote, “Actually, she was suspended for impersonating a comedian.”
But if she really wants her account back, she can have it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
Twitter spews 'lies all across the world', Biden slams Musk
While in a follow-up tweet, he went on write, that Ms. Griffin can get her account back if she pays $8 (the blue tick fee). “But if she really wants her account back, she can have it for $8.”
Marking the occasion of suspending the account Musk raised a warning with a tweet, “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended.”
“Previously, we issued a warning before the 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,” Musk highlighted in another tweet while adding, “Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark.”
Among the major changes that Musk took over after taking over as the new boss of the company, includes Twitter’s blue tick pushing it behind the paywall. On Saturday, the microblogging platform rolled out the $8 blue tick verification service. The latest update is currently available only on iOS devices in 5 countries, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.