Right-wing blogger David Vance has been suspended from Twitter amid repeated accusations of racism.
The social media platform was urged to act on Monday after Vance replied to a tweet by Marcus Rashford – who campaigned throughout the summer for free school meals for children – citing the stereotype that there is a “disproportionate problem within the (UK) Afro-Caribbean [sic] community of Black men abandoning their pregnant girlfriends.”
He also asked the England footballer, who is Black, if he had ever met his own father.
Vance, who has recently written for AltNewsMedia – a site which purports to provide “an alternative to the fake news mainstream media narrative” – has been repeatedly accused of racism and Islamophobia during his time on Twitter.
He has previously tweeted other prominent Black campaigners and politicians, including MP David Lammy and Femi Oluwole.
AltNewsMedia confirmed Vance’s suspension, posting a statement from the blogger’s Parler account in which he wrote: “The good news is I’m finally free from the sewer of Twitter.
“My account was removed overnight. I’m happy to be free and Parler is my choice of social media.”
Parler is a US-based microblogging platform, similar to Twitter, and has been touted as a “free speech” alternative. It has been adopted by a number of right-wing figures, including Katie Hopkins who has also been banned from Twitter.
A Twitter spokesperson said: “Abuse and hateful conduct have no place on our service and we will continue to take action when our rules are broken.
“Upon investigation, the account has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of our hateful conduct policy.”