For violating the platforms “hateful conduct” policy, the controversial rightwing commentator Katie Hopkins has had her Twitter account permanently suspended.
Hopkins, who has been repeatedly retweeted by the US president, Donald Trump, and had more than 1.1 million followers, was removed to “keep Twitter safe”, according to the social media platform.
The move came hours after she had complained that her blue “verified” check mark, which lets users know that an account is authentic, had been removed. A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed her removal to the Guardian.
The statement read: “Keeping Twitter safe is a top priority for us. Abuse and hateful conduct have no place on our service and we will continue to take action when our rules are broken.
“In this case, the account has been permanently suspended for violations of our hateful conduct policy.”
According to Twitter’s website, that policy prohibits promoting violence against or directly attacking or threatening people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, age, disability or serious disease.
Hopkins has been heavily criticised in the past for her comments, including comparing migrants to cockroaches and claiming the photograph of a dead Syrian boy lying on a beach that sparked a wave of compassion across Europe was staged, as well as stating that people with dementia should not “block” hospital beds.
Recently, she has been criticising the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the government’s decision to offer free meals to children during school holidays, a campaign driven by the Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford.
In her final tweets before the ban, she celebrated hitting 1.1 million followers and urged her fans to follow her on Instagram.
GuardianUK
