Former KKK leader, David Duke, has been banned from a growing number of social media platforms, and as of last Thursday, July 30, he can add one more to the list: Twitter.
Duke had been active on the platform from 2009 and had accumulated over 53, 000 followers within 11 years.
The Grand Wizard of the KKK has finally had his Twitter account shut down after promoting anti-semitic conspiracy theories and white supremacist content.
David Duke is a 70-year-old white supremacist, known for being a former Louisiana legislator, and the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1974 to 1980. His YouTube account was shut down earlier this year in June for creating white supremacist content and hate speech. Unsurprisingly, he posted much of the same content on Twitter, which led to the social media company finally removing his account last week.
CONFIRMED: FUCKING FINALLY! David Duke, former GRAND FUCKING WIZARD of the FUCKING KKK was just suspended from Twitter.
We’ve only been asking about this for THREE AND A HALF FUCKING YEARS! pic.twitter.com/Ra9nxeX7mE
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) July 31, 2020
A Twitter spokesperson gave a statement to CNET on Thursday night, describing “[Duke] has been permanently suspended for Twitter Rules on hateful conduct.”
Duke was prone to promoting violence and harassment towards individuals and groups based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, and gender, the spokesperson confirmed. Twitter is yet to confirm the exact post or posts that led to the banning of his account, but the Washington Post reported that he had recently shared content regarding anti-semitic conspiracy theories and shared misinformation about COVID-19, referring to Americans who refuse to wear masks in public as “the real heroes”.
After MULTIPLE violationsof Twitter’s rules of conduct, David Duke has been permanently banned! Can I get an AMEN? #ONEV1 #FAM46 #wtpBlue https://t.co/jgaUDq0qkq
— This government sucks big hairy Wooly Mammoth dick (@ThisWooly) July 31, 2020
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Twitter has started to crack down on their anti-hate guidelines, as well as anyone who contributes to the spread of fake news.
In the last month, the platform has deleted over 7,000 accounts related to Q-Anon, suspended Donald Trump Jr.’s account for tweeting false information about COVID-19, and suspended other celebrities accounts disseminating false and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. So, it comes as no surprise that Duke’s account was next on the list to be deleted, and users have made it pretty clear that he will not be missed by many.
Look, say whatever negative things you will about David Duke, but please be courteous and say them loud enough for everyone to hear.
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) July 31, 2020
GREAT NEWS 👇👇👇
Duke, a vicious racist and huge Trump supporter, has sent his final tweets, including conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic.https://t.co/CCr2s89SI4
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) July 31, 2020
No we’re on a roll.
David Duke is finally suspended.
Hard to believe the former grand wizard of the KKK was welcome on here in the first place.
Bye now! pic.twitter.com/MyWGpM2hyv
— Rachel Riley (@RachelRileyRR) July 31, 2020
