Source: NurPhoto / Getty
Elon Musk, currently the “Chief Twit” or whatever other title he wants to give himself as he sinks the social media service, has skin thinner than a grape. The South African billionaire issued a permanent ban on parody Twitter accounts that do not signify what they are after comedian Kathy Griffin imitated him, thus leading to her account being banned.
Elon Musk, 51, issued a tweet in the wake of Griffin changing her main account to tweet in the voice of the Tesla CEO.
“Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended,” Musk tweeted on Sunday (Nov. 6).
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022
What makes this a stunning revelation is Musk’s insistence on Twitter becoming a bastion of free speech and firing a ton of people at the company who critics of Twitter say are doing away from the variety of ideas and thoughts expressed on the social media network.
As it stands, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter was seen as a victory for faceless racists who want free reign to spew hateful language and also for those with extreme political views to spread lies about the democratic process. A study revealed that the N-Word slur usage raised 500 percent soon after Musk took over and it seems appears that the terms of service over at Twitter keep changing on Musk’s whims.
The end game for Elon Musk isn’t known and he looks intent on transforming the beloved and often useful social media network into a shell of itself. On Twitter, the reactions to Elon Musk’s thin-skinned reaction to jokes and his denying free speech selectively are cropping up heavily. We’ve got those tweets down below.
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Photo: Getty
1.
The second he said do whatever you want you just have to say it’s parody these guys started going hard af pic.twitter.com/5K2HOAQY8Q
— Read Jackson Rising by @CooperationJXN (@JoshuaPHilll) November 7, 2022
2.
Imagine spending $44 billion just to silence criticism and parodies of yourself on a social media website. pic.twitter.com/Pe1Bb3NVXx
— The Act Man (@TheActMan_YT) November 7, 2022
3.
Twitter suspends Ethan Klein despite him following Elon Musk’s stated guideline for parody accounts. pic.twitter.com/2YYjWSZHOb
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 7, 2022
4.
Hi, I'm Elon Musk (Parody). Three years after Jeffrey Epstein pled guilty to procuring a child for prostitution and shortly after his release from prison, I took my ex-wife Talulah Riley to his house (Not Parody). Mamma mia, I send-a the calzone into space (Italian Parody). pic.twitter.com/HXvvXhwWv7
— Respectable Lawyer (@RespectableLaw) November 6, 2022
5.
As requested by the owner of this website, I have added ‘parody’ to my name so that no one ever gets confused and so he doesn’t cancel Me. It is so nice that comedy is legal again. I, for one, welcome our new insect overlord.
— God Parody Account
(@thegoodgodabove) November 7, 2022
6.
going from “free speech king” to “we need to tighten the rules” because people started making parody accounts of you is the real comedy pic.twitter.com/Cc9K21DHyZ
— matt (@mattxiv) November 7, 2022
7.
the conservative stance on what is or is not free speech has never been consistent or coherent, but "free speech except for blue check parodies" is an incredible position to hold. a remarkable feat of the human mind
— Law Boy, Esq. (@The_Law_Boy) November 7, 2022
8.
LMFAO, Elon Musk claimed "comedy is now legal on Twitter" but now he's suspending accounts that parody him, fucking snowflake
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!
(@mmpadellan) November 4, 2022
9.
Hi. I’m @elonmusk (THIS IS PARODY) and I’m going to suspend Kathy Griffin for a joke the same day I reinstate Kanye West because I’m an antisemitic, homophobic, broken, un-loved prick (NOT parody).
— Richard Marx (@richardmarx) November 7, 2022
10.
Elon going from “Comedy is legal again” to “Parody accounts of me will be suspended” in a week is just more proof that when people complain about political correctness ruining comedy, it’s always just a cover for wanting to mock people with less social power than them.
— Aaron Hoyland (@aaronhoyland) November 7, 2022
11.
Because I’ve been tagged 1000 times, I will make two points:
1. Parody twitter accounts are protected speech, absent fraud.
2. I protect you from the government, not from Elon Musk. https://t.co/EzKv9cB6A4
— The First Amendment (@USConst_Amend_I) November 7, 2022
12.
Impersonating another person on Twitter without indicating it’s a parody will now result in the same permanent Twitter suspension as inciting an insurrection.
— Rex Chapman
(@RexChapman) November 7, 2022
13.
'Trash me all day' he says, furiously banning any verified account that parodies him pic.twitter.com/6b3YgxeULk
— Lily Simpson IS NOT Elon Musk (@LilySimpson1312) November 6, 2022
14.
You shadowbanned my main cuz i changed my handle to “NOT Elon Musk (PARODY)” asshole lol https://t.co/El9cJfkcY0
— Left At London (from elsewhere) (@LAL_updates) November 7, 2022
15.
Where is Italian Elon Musk (parody) when we need him the most? pic.twitter.com/eZqUoHEGQt
— Big McLarge Huge (@DrumLuck87) November 7, 2022
16.
Holy sh!t — Elon Musk has suspended @kathygriffin as Elon Musk —
I’ll assume, by his most recent tweet — for impersonating him without specifying being a parody.
Valerie Bertinelli @Wolfiesmom marked safe. pic.twitter.com/xLYtqvofnb
— Outspoken
(@Out5p0ken) November 6, 2022
17.
Elon is allowed to impersonate a genius without saying “parody”, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary.
On New Twitter, hypocrisy isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.
— connectpoliticditto. (@cpoliticditto) November 7, 2022
18.
Elon is dangerous to democracy. This is not parody.
— Liam Nissan
19.
The point you should be making is that, even though parody is protected speech, a private company is not bound by the first amendment in its content moderation policies. Unfortunately you’re so cataclysmically stupid that you’ve been saying the opposite for years. https://t.co/AgWzvERKfE
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) November 7, 2022
20.
This is one of the brilliant tech bros Musk has brought on to help him run Twitter
His knowledge of the first amendment apparently consists of reading a Wikipedia article and it shows
Parody is protected speech under the First Amendment
Look it up: Hustler v Falwell (1988) https://t.co/PENGgmRaDm
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 7, 2022
The post Phony Starks AKA Felon Tusk AKA Elon Musk Can’t Take A Joke appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.