Twitter Permanently Suspends David Duke
Kim Lyons, The Verge, July 31, 2020
Twitter has suspended the account of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke for “repeated violations of the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct,” a spokesperson confirmed to The Verge on Friday. “This enforcement action is in line with our recently-updated guidance on harmful links.”
Duke joined Twitter in September 2009, an archived version of his page shows, and his account had more than 53,000 followers.
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Twitter’s Hateful Conduct Policy prohibits the promotion of violence against — or threats of attack toward — people on the basis of certain categories such as religious affiliation, race, and ethnic origin. The company says it’s taking action in line with its recently updated policy on URLs and blocking links.
After coming under intense criticism, Twitter has zeroed in on hate speech and “hateful conduct” over the past several months, suspending UK commentator Katie Hopkins in January, banning 7,000 QAnon-related accounts last week, and labeling several incendiary tweets by President Trump with fact-check labels.
