Twitter’s censorship of prominent conservatives continued on Tuesday with the permanent suspension of the influential meme maker known as “Carpe Donktum,” whose humorous political memes and videos skewering the political left and mainstream media have made him a favorite of President Donald Trump.
Carpe Donktum was banned by Twitter for copyright claims over his “Racist Baby” parody video that mocks CNN. President Trump tweeted the video last week, prompting Twitter to slap the president’s tweet with a “manipulated media” fact-check label before the video was removed from the platform.
The video showed two toddlers — one black, one white — embracing and playfully running after each together, with a parody CNN chyron speculating that the white toddler might be a racist Trump supporter.
Twitter sent a notice to Carpe Donktum on Tuesday saying that his suspension was due to “multiple” copyright infringements.
The social media giant said in a separate statement sent to Breitbart News that the suspension is permanent: “Per our copyright policy, we respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a valid copyright owner or their authorized representatives. The account was permanently suspended for repeated violations of this policy.”
Carpe Donktum told Breitbart News that he received a copyright complaint early Tuesday concerning the “Racist Baby” parody video. The complaint came from a Los Angeles “digital rights” company called Jukin Media, which flagged the video for infringement claims, according to the takedown notice.
Later in the day, Twitter notified him of his suspension.
He disputes Twitter’s claim that the video is copyrighted. “It’s in the public sphere,” he said, noting that the original video had already gone viral before he created his parody version of it.
The Carpe Donktum version has been around since September but only drew national attention after President Trump tweeted it. “It’s not Trump’s fault. But I’m sure there was added pressure,” he said.
Carpe Donktum said Twitter doesn’t keep users informed about how many copyright complaints have been lodged against them, “so you have no idea where you stand.”
“If they want to do this to me, that’s their prerogative,” he added. “But there are a lot of people who aren’t Trump supporters who’ll think this is crazy.”
He later posted a statement to his own website.
Carpe Donktum was previously kicked off Twitter in October over a Project Veritas video that he tweeted showing undercover footage of CNN employees discussing the cable network’s anti-Trump bias. But Twitter quickly re-instated him.
His latest and apparently permanent suspension comes as Twitter steps up efforts to silence prominent conservatives, including the president.
On Tuesday, Twitter blocked a tweet from President Trump in which he warned protestors that they will be met with force if they try to create an “autonomous zone” near the White House.
It marks the second time in a month that the social media platform has hidden a tweet from the president.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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