Twitter has suspended an account with thousands of followers for violating its policy against “fake and misleading accounts,” because it posted a clip of the encounter between a Native American elder and several Kentucky high school students.
The video, which was taken on Friday, has become a lightning rod for political and social skirmishes across the country.
The @2020fight account, which had more than 40,000 followers before it was taken down, shared a minute-long video of the incident between Nathan Phillips, a Vietnam veteran, and protestors from Covington Catholic High School at the Indigenous Peoples March in Washingtoon, D.C.
Initial shorter and longer videos of the incident Friday showed one student, later identified as Nick Sandmann, as he stood in front of Phillips. As Phillips sang or chanted while beating a drum, Sandmann smiled while other students behind him cheered and laughed. Phillips was singing a song about the Native American movement that was about strength and courage, he told media.
The video sparked an outcry on Twitter, with many users calling the students racist and pushing for their personal information to be leaked online. As of Monday, the clip was retweeted more than 14,000 times and racked up 2.5 million views.
The account was suspended on Monday afternoon, however, after CNN Business noticed the account was not authentic. The account had a profile picture of a Brazil-based blogger, despite claiming to be run by a California schoolteacher named Talia.
The video had been posted earlier on Instagram by someone who was at the event, but it was @2020fight’s caption that helped frame the news cycle.
