Twitter permanently bans Katie Hopkins for ‘hateful conduct’
Twitter permanently bans Katie Hopkins for ‘hateful conduct’
The social media site confirmed it has permanently suspended the account of far-right provocateur Katie Hopkins for violating its hateful conduct policy.
3 min read
Katie Hopkins rose to notoriety as a commentator peddling racist and far-right views [Getty]
Twitter confirmed on Friday that it had permanently barred the account of extreme right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins over violations of the site's hate speech policy.
Hopkins has been widely criticised for her hateful posts against immigrants, Asians, Muslims, disabled people and most recently the Black Lives Matter movement and British footballer and anti-child poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford.
The one-time Apprentice contestant has previously had her account temporarily suspended, but still maintained over one million followers on the platform.
Hopkins has been widely criticised for her hateful posts against immigrants, Asians, Muslims, disabled people and most recently the Black Lives Matter movement and British footballer and anti-child poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford.
The one-time Apprentice contestant has previously had her account temporarily suspended, but still maintained over one million followers on the platform.
A Twitter spokesperson said: “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.”
Twitter did not specify the exact posts that had violated its guidelines.
Twitter’s website states that its hateful conduct policy prohibits promoting violence against or directly attacking or threatening other people "on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease."
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Hopkins' recent remarks mocking the Black Lives Matter protest movement against police brutality and systemic racism had incensed many users.
“Today is #whiteoutwednesday. I will shortly be posting a picture of my arse. Thank you,” she tweeted on Wednesday.
She had also sparked backlash for her tirade against footballer Marcus Rashford, who successfully campaigned for the government to provide free meals to school children over the summer holidays.
"Dear Marcus Rashford, do you think women should think about how they are going to feed a child before they decide to have it?" she tweeted.
“I do not want to pay to feed other people’s kids. You are welcome to. Thank you, Katie Hopkins.”
Crystal Palace player Patrick van Aanholt wrote to her in response: “He’s done more for this country in 24 hours than you have your entire life. Bow before a king.”
Hopkins was recently the target of an awards ceremony prank, in which she flew to Prague to accept the Campaign to Unite the Nation Trophy, or C**T.
In her acceptance speech, she launched into a shockingly obscene tirade against Muslims, Asians, disabled people and environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Hopkins has a long history of peddling far-right and racist views in the media. In 2017, she was fired as a host on LBC radio after calling for a "final solution" in a tweet about Muslims.
Her now-suspended column with Mail Online included calls for gunboats to stop African migrants crossing the Meditarranean - whom she called "cockroaches" - from reaching Europe.
She has been re-tweeted by US President Donald Trump numerous times.
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