But, Twitter (like most websites and web hosting services) accepts DMCA claims without verifying their authenticity (or the authenticity of the person filing them), and they removed the photo of Shabazz from Shabazz’s account.
The DMCA claimed that Rhyheim Shabazz infringed on someone else’s copyright by posting the photo that he took of himself, which is obviously insane. Here’s what Shabazz’s Twitter account looks like right now:Īnd here, for example, is a screenshot of one of Rhyheim Shabazz’s tweets-containing a photo of himself-that was falsely reported for copyright violation: Shabazz-a newcomer and wildly popular fan favorite who rose to superstar status this year as he interacted daily with over 300,000 followers-had his Twitter account pulled down over the weekend due to the fraudulent DMCAs, with the anonymous filer falsely claiming to Twitter that Shabazz’s own photos and videos aren’t his, and his tweets containing those photos and videos were therefore in violation of U.S. While filing a false DMCA against someone is considered perjury and can lead to civil penalties, that isn’t stopping one deranged Twitter user from filing multiple false DMCAs against gay porn star Rhyheim Shabazz. *** This story is being continuously updated below.***