“DISGRUNTLED EX-EMPLOYEE? Twitter CEO Elon Musk's account is presently suspended.”
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May 7, 2022: A federal judge in San Francisco, California dismisses the lawsuit brought by former President Donald Trump seeking to lift his permanent ban from Twitter. (AP)
No, a ‘disgruntled ex-employee’ did not suspend Elon Musk’s Twitter account
If Your Time is short
- Elon Musk’s Twitter account was not suspended by a disgruntled ex-employee. An account that bears similar spelling as Musk’s Twitter handle was suspended.
Mass layoffs hit Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk acquired the platform for $44 billion, prompting speculation about the future for the business and the remaining staff.
Musk laid off about half of the social media platform’s 7,500 employees on Nov. 4.
And a screenshot claimed his Twitter account fell victim to a laid-off employee’s retaliation.
A Nov. 4 Instagram post features a screenshot of an "account suspended" notice. The post’s caption reads ""DISGRUNTLED EX-EMPLOYEE? Twitter CEO Elon Musk's account is presently suspended."
The post was flagged as part of Instagram’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Featured Fact-check
The Twitter handle shown in the account suspension notification is not Musk’s.
The account that was suspended — and remains suspended as of Nov. 5 — bears the user handle "@eionmusk," with the "i" capitalized. The platform’s sans serif typeface gives a casual observer the false impression it is a lower-case "L."
As of Nov. 7, Musk’s Twitter account "@elonmusk" remained active. In reviewing archived screenshots of Musk’s account dating back to Oct. 28, the date the the microblogging site’s acquisition was finalized, we found no evidence it was ever suspended.
Other independent fact-checking organizations, including The Associated Press and Lead Stories, have also debunked the claim.
The erroneous Nov. 4 post is just the latest iteration of an old claim. Similar Musk’s-account-is-suspended claims surfaced in July when he tried to back out of the deal to acquire Twitter; PolitiFact determined those claims were bogus, too.
There is no merit to the claim that a "disgruntled ex-employee" suspended Musk’s Twitter account. We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Instagram post, (archived) Nov. 4, 2022
Elon Musk verified Twitter account, @elonmusk
Elon Musk verified Twitter account, @elonmusk, archived Nov. 4
Lead Stories, "Fact Check: Twitter Did NOT Suspend Elon Musk's Account," Oct. 26, 2022
The Associated Press, "No, Elon Musk was not suspended from Twitter," July 11, 2022
The New York Times, "Confusion and Frustration Reign as Elon Musk Cuts Half of Twitter’s Staff," Nov. 4, 2022
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No, a ‘disgruntled ex-employee’ did not suspend Elon Musk’s Twitter account
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