Elon Musk suspends comic Kathy Griffin's account for impersonation

New Delhi: Actor and comic Kathy Griffin became the first casualty of Elon Musk's new rule as Twitter suspended her account for "engaging in impersonation" after she changed her display name to "Elon Musk".

A screenshot of Griffin's viral tweet read: "After much-spirited discussion with the females in my life. I have decided that voting blue for their choice is only right," asking voters to support Democratic candidates in the US midterm election on November 8.

After her account was suspended for impersonating Musk, the new Twitter CEO commented, jokingly: "Actually, she was suspended for impersonating a comedian.

"But if she really wants her account back, she can have it. For $8."

He said that Twitter needs to become by far the "most accurate source of information about the world".

"That's our mission," Musk added.

Musk on Monday said that any Twitter account engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying "parody" on the handle will be permanently suspended.

Previously, Twitter issued a warning before suspension, "but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning", said the world's richest man.

"Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark," Musk added.