LOS ANGELES — New Twitter owner Elon Musk has vowed to crack down on impersonation accounts, a long-standing concern for adult performers on the platform who have been shadow-banned or suspended even while fake accounts with thousands of followers thrive.
Musk announced his decision via Twitter over the weekend, after several verified “blue check” accounts changed their user name to “Elon Musk” to spoof the billionaire.
“Going forward,” Musk decreed, “any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.”
“Now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning,” Musk added. Previously, impersonators received warnings before being suspended.
Today, Musk tweeted, “Twitter rules will evolve over time, but they’re currently the following,” linking out to the current policies, including a section on “authenticity.”
That policy reads, “You may not impersonate individuals, groups, or organizations to mislead, confuse, or deceive others, nor use a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of others on Twitter.”
Adult performers and other sex workers have repeatedly complained to little avail about Twitter’s routine practice of shadow-banning, or "ghost-banning," their accounts while leaving impostors unmolested.
Immediately after purchasing Twitter, Musk told a follower he would be “digging into” the practice of shadow-banning, a term and concept that large platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been extremely reluctant to discuss openly.