Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery — although Twitter owner Elon Musk may not see it that way.
The comedian Kathy Griffin, YouTube personality Ethan Klein and “Mad Men” actor Rich Sommer each say their Twitter accounts were suspended over the weekend after they impersonated Musk, changing their display names and profile photos to match those of the billionaire.
The decisions to lock all three out of their Twitter accounts come as Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” draws intense scrutiny for how he handles speech issues on the platform. He has pledged to make the service a destination for accurate information, but has also suggested he may loosen the platform’s rules.
Musk has also said the company is planning major changes to Twitter’s verification system, opening it up to anyone willing to pay a monthly fee. That idea has caused some concern about security, safety and impersonation on the platform, which appears to be a primary motivating factor for the wave of people suddenly imitating Musk on Twitter.
Musk’s team on Friday laid off roughly half the workforce in a bid to cut costs, rattling veteran employees and riveting much of Silicon Valley. The changes to the platform, combined with the reduction of Twitter’s workforce, left some people worried that the service will have trouble enforcing its rules against misinformation and impersonation.
Before Musk took over the company, Twitter had rules against impersonating other accounts “to mislead, confuse, or deceive others.” Parody or fan accounts were instructed to mark in their account name that they were separate from the account they were parodying.
Griffin, Klein and Sommer all appeared to change their account names on their verified profiles to “Elon Musk” without indicating that they were parodying his account.
The suspensions hint at a growing adversarial relationship between Musk and Twitter users who have expressed skepticism of his motives for making changes. Musk and his deputies — including the tech investor David Sacks and key Twitter lieutenant Yoel Roth — proceeded to explain and defend their personnel decisions on Twitter itself, mixing it up with average users and high-profile figures alike.
Musk, who acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal, tweeted Sunday afternoon that “going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.”
As of Monday morning, many Twitter accounts…
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