Twitter begins permanently banning Elon Musk impersonators

Luke Meredith

As expected by many social media analysts, there’s been no shortage of think pieces and general outrage since Elon Musk became the official owner and CEO of Twitter nearly two weeks ago.

One of the more controversial changes set to be made to the site is the introduction of a paid subscription for the famous verification ‘blue tick’.

As part of the protests to the platform’s new ownership, there has been a recent trend among currently verified Twitter users of impersonating the new CEO by changing their profile picture and name to Musk, and mock-tweeting about new Twitter ‘policies’ as a way of amusing users and confusing them over what Musk’s actual plans are.

However, despite declaring that ‘comedy is now legal on Twitter’, it seems as though the billionaire is putting his foot down to prevent himself being the butt of immature jokes. Musk announced that accounts, including that of comedian Kathy Griffin, will be permanently banned from Twitter for impersonating other users without clearly labelling the act as a ‘parody’. This policy will be a requirement for any user who subscribes to the revamped Twitter Blue subscription service that will give users the coveted blue tick.

While Musk has begun to show his desire to delete accounts from Twitter, search trends suggest rising number of Twitter’s users want to beat him to it and remove themselves from the platform. As well as booting user accounts, Twitter’s new management also wasted no time in making severe cuts to staff, firing around 3,700 of Twitter’s global employees.

The controversy around Musk and Twitter’s new era is unlikely to slow down anytime soon. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see whether any new policies are met with similar levels of vitriol and disgust.

Whatever your opinions are on Elon Musk, Twitter is still an important platform for much of your social media content. If you need any support in establishing a solid online presence, be sure to speak to our team at Engage Web today.

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Luke Meredith

Content Editor at Engage Web

At home in both the digital sector and the world of communications, Luke thrives on deadlines and has held roles in healthcare, retail and digital marketing, gaining a sound knowledge of a wide range of sectors. He’s a massive swot as well, holding a first-class degree in BA Communication and Media, and now uses his writing skills and keen editorial eye in his role as Content Editor here. Luke helps to oversee our clients’ content requirements, while also looking after a pool of freelance writers across three continents.

Twitter begins permanently banning Elon Musk impersonators