So Farewell Then Katie Hopkins

No Twitter following is so large as to be proof against suspension, and so it proved yesterday, as very soon after celebrating her achievement of 1.1 million followers, pro-am motormouth and racist bigot Katie Hopkins was thrown off the platform permanently, to the great relief of all those who wished it had happened rather earlier.

Viewers will no longer need to look away now

First the coveted blue tick disappeared, and then, following the trajectory established by her pal Stephen Yaxley Lennon recently, her account was taken down. Ms Hopkins may have known what was coming, as in those last moments, she urged her followers to transfer their allegiance to her Instagram account.

She had good reason to do so: Twitter later told “Keeping Twitter safe is a top priority for us. Abuse and hateful conduct have no place on our service and we will continue to take action when our rules are broken” as they confirmed Ms Hopkins had been chucked off the platform, the latest phase in a long and sad fall from grace.

It was not so long ago she had a column in the Sun on Sunday and a regular show on broadcaster LBC. The Sun declined to renew her contract, LBC sacked her after her “we need a final solution” comment following the Manchester bombing, Mail Online lost patience after having to pick up the bill for libel actions caused by her columns, and of course she lost a libel action brought by writer and campaigner Jack Monroe.

What future does she have with no Twitter presence? Not much, if the experience of petulant man-baby Milo Yiannopoulos is anything to go by. He has a mountain of debt and has been unable to garner any significant following, recently moaning “Talking to the same 1,000 people none of whom buy books, tickets to anything or donate … I spent years growing and developing and investing in my fan base and they just took it away in a flash”.

In a sign of desperation, and knowing what happens when Twitter bans people, she tried to sneak back later yesterday. One observer told what happened next: “This is hilarious. After having her account suspended, Hatey Hopkins opened two new non blue tick ones with bios saying ‘I won't be silenced’ and ‘They won't take me down’. They silenced her. And took her down”. That desperation then got worse. Tragically worse.

Another Twitter observer reported “Paha. Katie Hopkins is on Parler begging for cash. You love to see it!” What for? “Considering taking legal action against Twitter”. Yeah, right. Because the last time she ended up in court, it all went so well, didn’t it? That campaign will go nowhere. There are limits to just how much free hate speech one can dispense before running foul of the Ts and Cs. Hatey Katie is almost finished.

Only one act remains: the inevitable attempt by the likes of Brendan O’Neill to monetise her demise for clicks, blaming it on the “Woke Left” as he continues his search for another lucrative column in the Sun or Mail. Her only residual value is in being talked about. And it is others who will make the money: without a platform, no-one will buy what she’s selling.

The time of Katie Hopkins in the spotlight was for a time, but not for all time.

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