PewDiePie is setting the record straight about his unverified and temporarily suspended Twitter account — which was the result, according to multiple inaccurate reports yesterday, of untoward jokes made by YouTube’s most subscribed star about ISIS.
Hours ago on his YouTube channel, however, PewDiePie — whose real name is Felix Kjellberg — responded to the controversy with a rant about verification, and also a somewhat random soliloquy about Twitter users who follow lots of different accounts. Kjellberg then went on to explain that he chose to unverify his own account as a joke — and also as a statement about the pettiness of verification. He added a globe emoji in place of the traditional blue check mark.
Here’s where the ISIS connection comes in. After a blatantly fake news article claimed that Twitter unverified Kjellberg’s account due to “suspected relations with ISIS,” the rumor began to gain traction online, whereupon Kjellberg piled on, Tweeting, “Me and @Jack_Septic_Eye have joined ISIS. Which is why we both got unverified.” (Jack’s account, for the record, remains verified.)
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Then, roughly two hours ago on Facebook, Kjellberg claimed that Twitter had suspended his account due to his recent YouTube video about the situation. Though he temporarily lost his nearly 8 million followers, they are all back and his account seems to be up and running again — though the blue check mark still remains missing.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which cited sources, Twitter temporarily suspended Kjellberg’s account for fear it had been hacked. The misunderstanding was due to recent oddball behavior, including his decision to un-verify, the jokes about ISIS, and the fact that his profile picture was a graphic d-ck pic. The account was suspended for less than an hour until it became clear that Kjellberg was behind all the activity.
Check out Kjellberg’s initial response to the ordeal, which includes shots taken at fellow YouTube stars Bart Baker and Ray William Johnson — and even Melissa Joan Hart — below:
