Musk threatens permanent bans of Twitter users ‘engaging in impersonation’

Twitter owner Elon Musk on Sunday said Twitter users who impersonate authentic accounts on the platform will be banned.

“Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” Musk wrote on Twitter. “Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning.”

Musk has angered many users with changes to Twitter’s verification system, asking people to pay $8 a month for a subscription that includes the blue check mark.

He said the rules against impersonations would be “clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue,” adding that users would also temporarily lose verification if they change their profile name.

The news comes after Twitter suspended several users who had changed their user names to Elon Musk to impersonate the billionaire on the social media platform.

Some high-profile celebrities also changed their account name to Elon Musk to make a point, including comedian Kathy Griffin, whose account is now suspended.

Actress Valerie Bertinelli changed her name to Elon Musk and tweeted several times under the new persona with a blue check mark next to her name. She even began tweeting out support for Democrats in the midterms before changing her name back.

“The blue checkmark simply meant your identity was verified,” she tweeted. “Scammers would have a harder time impersonating you. That no longer applies. Good luck out there!”

According to the New York Times, the official rollout of the new Twitter Blue will begin after Tuesday, amid concerns it would further spread disinformation around the election.

The mark was previously only awarded to authentic and verified accounts including celebrities, politicians, public agencies, private businesses and journalists, among others who could prove they had a notable online presence.

Musk on Sunday said “widespread verification will democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people.”

But the new method of paying for a verification mark has raised concerns that it will make it harder to identify trusted sources on the platform.