Skip to main content

Twitter permanently bans former KKK leader David Duke

 

Twitter has permanently suspended white supremacist David Duke for violating “hateful conduct” rules.

Recommended Videos

Before his banning, Duke’s Twitter page boasted over 53,000 followers. A member of Twitter since 2009, Duke used his platform to promote hate speech.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

In a statement to Digital Trends, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed Duke’s account  “has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter Rules on hateful conduct. This enforcement action is in line with our recently-updated guidance on harmful links.”

Duke’s final tweet before his suspension was an interview with convicted German Holocaust denier Germar Rudolf, which violates Twitter’s rules against the promotion of violence against people based on their religious affiliation, according to the BBC.

Known most notably for his role as Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group based in the south, Duke has used his following to gain political approval.

While his 1991 bid for governor of Louisiana was unsuccessful, Duke served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1989 to 1992. In 2002, Duke served a 15-month sentence in federal prison for felony mail and tax fraud related to his failed political runs. In recent years, he is most well recognized for denying the Holocaust on several social media sites.

Twitter isn’t the only social media site to deem Duke’s content inappropriate.

In June, YouTube suspended the channels of several alt-right commentators, including Duke, Richard Spencer, and Stefan Molyneux, all for violating YouTube’s conduct policy by “alleging members of protected groups were inferior.”

Duke’s suspension was apart of an ongoing push from Twitter to ban harmful conspiracy links and hateful conduct from the site. In March, Twitter introduced a new user policy that forbids users from sharing content that is deemed hateful or violence indicting.

Twitter’s rationale for the Hateful Conduct Policy is that the company remains “committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance, particularly abuse that seeks to silence the voices of those who have been historically marginalized. For this reason, we prohibit behavior that targets individuals with abuse based on protected categories.”

Since March, Twitter has suspended other popular accounts in violation of the new policy, including U.K. commentator Kate Hopkins, popular QAnon accounts, and fact-checking inflammatory tweets from President Donald Trump.

Zoe Christen Jones
Zoe Christen Jones is a breaking news reporter. She covers news, digital culture, tech, and more. Previously, she was…
How to download Instagram photos for free
Instagram app running on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Instagram is amazing, and many of us use it as a record of our lives — uploading the best bits of our trips, adventures, and notable moments. But sometimes you can lose the original files of those moments, leaving the Instagram copy as the only available one . While you may be happy to leave it up there, it's a lot more convenient to have another version of it downloaded onto your phone or computer. While downloading directly from Instagram can be tricky, there are ways around it. Here are a few easy ways to download Instagram photos.

Read more
How to get verified on Instagram Threads
A verified account on Instagram Threads.

Like Twitter and Instagram, Instagram Threads allows users to become verified to confirm their identities and access some exclusive features. Similar to Twitter's verification process, you'll need to pay a monthly fee to be verified on Threads, so keep that price in mind as you get your verified Threads account set up.

So, without further ado, here's how to get verified on Instagram Threads in a few straightforward steps.

Read more
How to remove location data from your iPhone photos
How to transfer photos from an iPhone to an iPhone

We all love making memories, and a great way to collect those memories is to take a quick snap of a gorgeous landscape, a party in full swing, or a particularly incredible meal. The Apple iPhone now also adds a location to your pictures, meaning it can collate those images together into a location-themed album, or show you all the shots you've taken in a specific location. It's a fun little addition, and it's one that adds a lot of personality to the Photos app.

Read more