PewDiePie kicked off Twitter for joking about ISIS
YouTube 'personality' (or walking, talking, narcissistic ego with a webcam, depending on your point of view) PewDiePie has been kicked off Twitter -- just like @Nero. It comes just a day after the internet star was stripped of his blue verification checkmark.
The debacle kicked off when Pewdi… sorry, Felix Kjellberg... lost his blue badge and he subsequently posted a video in which he revealed the 'reason' for this. A fake news story had popped up suggesting he had links with ISIS, and Kjellberg used his video to 'joke' that he had in fact joined ISIS. The ban hammer swiftly followed.
The ban was, however, temporary. PewDiePie's Twitter presence has now been restored, and his follower account is, sickeningly and inexplicably, rising rapidly. His account remains unverified, but he is unfazed by this. Twitter, of course, had nothing to say beyond the usual: "We don't comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons."
Unverified is the new verified
— Felix Kjellberg ? (@pewdiepie) August 30, 2016
Oh, and the joke tweet...
Me and @Jack_Septic_Eye have joined isis. Which is why we both got unverified.
— Felix Kjellberg ? (@pewdiepie) August 30, 2016
But there's a lesson to be learned here. In an age that finds the likes of Twitter stamping down hard on anything even vaguely terrorism related, making jokes about joining organizations involved in terrorist activities probably isn’t the best way to get on their good side. But, hey... most people have at least a modicum of common sense, right?
Photo credit: Nestor Rizhniak / Shutterstock