David Icke's Twitter Account Permanently Banned Over Covid-19 Misinformation

Twitter has permanently suspended the account of conspiracy theorist David Icke for circulating misinformation relating to Covid-19.

The former footballer has continually spread unfounded claims that coronavirus is linked to 5G phone networks, and that a Jewish group may be involved.

PA

A spokesperson for Twitter told the BBC: "The account referenced has been permanently suspended for violating Twitter's rules regarding Covid misinformation."

The social media platform has been under pressure to remove the 68-year-old's account - which had around 382,000 followers - for some time, after YouTube and Facebook banned his accounts earlier this year.

Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said the deplatforming of Icke on YouTube and Facebook had demonstrably worked.

In an article for the Huffington Post, he wrote: "Icke's poisonous misinformation about coronavirus had already been viewed 30 million times.

"Every week his social media accounts attracted another 22,000 followers. And all of this was helping make Icke and the tech giants who both powered and profited from him millions of dollars in revenue.

"Obviously David Icke has the right to spout whatever nonsense he likes, but he doesn't have the right to an audience of millions. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of reach."

He continued: "Icke is now having to rely on BitChute, a YouTube alternative for the far right, where he has just 42,000 subscribers compared to the 890,000 he had on YouTube before his ban.

"His use of BitChute makes for a case study in why deplatforming works. Since 2017, Icke has backed up all of his YouTube videos to BitChute, allowing for a direct comparison of how hate actors fare when they are robbed of the vast reach that tech giants can give them."

Topics: UK News, Coronavirus, Twitter

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey