Elon Musk’s first Twitter moderation change calls for permanent bans on impersonators - The Verge

Elon Musk said accounts engaging in impersonation without a parody label will be suspended permanently. This follows users changing their account names to “Elon Musk” in protest of a proposed new verification system.

The Verge homepageThe Verge homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo./Tech/Reviews/Science/Entertainment/MoreMenuExpandThe VergeThe Verge logo.MenuExpandTwitter/Tech/Elon MuskElon Musk’s response to fake verified Elon Twitter accounts: a new permanent ban policy for impersonationElon Musk’s response to fake verified Elon Twitter accounts: a new permanent ban policy for impersonation / Elon didn’t wait for a moderation panel to change this policy.By Richard Lawler / @rjcc

Share this story Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty ImagesElon Musk’s Twitter has a new rule for everyone with an account on Twitter to follow, as he announced from his own account: “any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.” In a follow-up tweet, Musk said “Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning.”

It’s an abrupt update from the person who just a few days ago tweeted, “Comedy is now legal on Twitter” after taking control of the company. Comedy is legal — as long as it follows the rules, which are whatever Elon says they are and could change at any time.

Ever since Musk promised his Twitter would bring “power to the people” by offering verification to anyone willing to pay $8 for a subscription, some owners of already verified accounts have been renaming themselves Elon Musk, highlighting the issue of a verification system that doesn’t actually check who controls an account. Comedians Kathy Griffin and Sarah Silverman are among the accounts already known to be locked or suspended as a result.

Twitter’s existing policies already contain a section covering “parody, commentary, and fan accounts.” As Musk’s later tweets clarified, the plan is to go with the heaviest penalty on the first offense, skipping the first two levels of enforcement listed on the current impersonation and deceptive identities policy:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/6/23443871/elon-musk-twitter-permaban-impersonation-parody

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