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Twitter to permanently ban impersonators, Elon Musk announces

Elon Musk announced Sunday "Twitter accounts engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying 'parody' will be permanently suspended without warning," going forward.

Why it matters: Musk said before he took over Twitter he'd "reverse the permanent ban" on former President Trump, arguing that permanent suspensions on the microblogging site "should be extremely rare."


  • Musk has been a staunch advocate for free speech on Twitter and tweeted after the takeover, "Comedy is now legal on Twitter."

The big picture: Several Twitter users have changed their profile names to "Elon Musk" to parody the world's richest person since he completed the $44 billion acquisition of the company last month.

Details: "Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning," Musk tweeted. "This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue."

The bottom line: "Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark," Musk added.

Worth noting: Comedian Kathy Griffin's account was suspended for violating Twitter's rules before Musk's announcement. She had changed her profile name to "Elon Musk."

  • Musk joked in a Sunday night tweet that Griffin was "suspended for impersonating a comedian."
  • "But if she really wants her account back, she can have it" for $8, added Musk, in reference to Twitter's new subscription service that comes with a blue checkmark next to users' names.

Go deeper: Musk is managing Twitter Trump-style

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more comment from Twitter owner Elon Musk and further context.

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