Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has been banned from Twitter for breaking the social media platform’s rules on hate speech by reportedly posting racist interviews and links.
The company said Friday that Duke's account “has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of the Twitter rules on hateful conduct.”
It didn't specify what exactly Duke posted that triggered the ban, but its policy on hateful conduct prohibits promoting violence or threatening attacks against people based on religious affiliation, race and ethnic origin.
Credit: Max Becherer
Credit: Max Becherer
The ex-Ku Klux Klan leader and former Louisiana legislator’s most recent tweets included a link to an interview he conducted with Holocaust denier Germar Rudolf, The Washington Post reported. Other posts alleged he would expose the “systemic racism lie” and the “incitement of violence against white people” by Jewish-owned media, and misinformation about the danger and spread of the coronavirus.
“People who refuse the mask are the real heroes,” he tweeted.
Twitter said the ban was in line with its recently updated policy aimed at cutting down on harmful links. Under the new rules, the company may suspend accounts dedicated to sharing hateful content or that try to get around its blocks on sharing links to the material.
Duke was the leader of the white supremacist KKK from 1974 to 1978.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.