YouTuber and meme creator Carpe Donktum has been permanently banned from Twitter over copyright infringement on a meme President Trump tweeted. The video that Carpe Donktum created was to make fun of fake news, CNN in particular.
The Post Millennial reports
It was a familiar meme, showing two toddlers running on the sidewalk. The new meme cut the video into sections, first showing the black toddler running from the white toddler. That was the end of the meme. The beginning, as Donktum spliced it, was the children running toward each other in glee. The point of the meme was to show how easy it is for news media to take video and manipulate it to support their narrative of reality.
It did that so successfully that it made the original creator angry. The meme is clearly public domain, but the meme’s original creator lawyered up in an attempt to punish Donktum because the meme was popular with supporters of President Trump.
NEWS: Twitter has "permanently suspended" @CarpeDonktum, pro-Trump meme account behind the "manipulated media" CNN "racist baby" video that Trump shared
Twitter says the account was axed due too "repeated" "valid copyright complaints," per spox to @ABC News pic.twitter.com/rJWlIBPijy
— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) June 23, 2020
Donktum took to the social media Parler to explain what happened, saying:
“Yes, I have been permanently banned from Twitter for ‘copywright infringement.’ I have always abided by any DCMA takedown I have received. I have NEVER violated a takedown. The most recent takedown was this morning and it was fraudulent. The Toddler video was and is public domain and protected by the law under satire and parody. Thanks for your support.”
