As much shit as we regularly give Twitter for prioritizing must-have features like longer handles and regular maintenance of the ominous, slowly filling circle that now lives at the bottom of every tweet—instead of, say, stopping hate speech from proliferating all over its platform—the social media company does occasionally get things right. Like today, when Mashable noted that professional internet racist Tim Gionet—known more commonly by his dessert-defiling online nickname, “Baked Alaska”—has been banned from the service, possibly permanently.
For those unfamiliar with Gionet’s personal brand of hateful ridiculousness, let’s go to Wikipedia for a brief summary of his career, which includes credits as “an American alt-right/far-right political activist, white nationalist, former rapper, and social media personality.” (Though it neglects to mention his most important role, “schadenfreude provider,” courtesy of his bizarre tendency to mace himself in videoes.) Gionet was a depressingly vocal pro-Trump presence in the 2016 election, serving as a poster-troll for the numerous internet followers of America’s current shit-poster in chief. He also marched at Charlottesville, just in case you were worried he was hiding his ugly light under an online bushel.
It’s not clear which specific tweet got Gionet the boot: The frequent comments about “white persecution”? The pictures of gas chambers? His tweeting of the neo-Nazi mantra known as the “Fourteen Words”? Really, the company had a buffet of awful to choose from when it finally decided to pull the plug.
Anyway, one racist asshole down, tens of thousands to go. Still your move, Jack.