Tweeting This 7-Letter Word Got Many Banned From Twitter. Here's Why

Twitter users were recently surprised to learn that the microblogging platform was automatically suspending the accounts of people tweeting the word "Memphis". Dozens of Twitter users reported that their accounts had been suspended or limited after they tweeted the innocuous seven-letter word, reports Ladbible. It was reported that those who tweeted "Memphis" received a message from Twitter informing them that they would be locked out of their account for 12 hours.

"You may not publish or post other people's private information without their express authorization and permission," Twitter's warning read, according to screenshots of those impacted accessed by Newsweek.

After several people flagged the issue on Sunday, Twitter said it had been caused by a bug and had been fixed. "A number of accounts that Tweeted the word 'Memphis' were temporarily limited due to a bug," said Twitter, adding that the bug had been fixed and the accounts restored.

A number of accounts that Tweeted the word “Memphis” were temporarily limited due to a bug. It's been fixed and the accounts have now been restored. We're sorry this happened.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 14, 2021

Several media outlets reported that the issue was first noticed by users who were attempting to tweet about the Dutch soccer player Memphis Depay.

On Sunday, the French soccer club Olympique Lyonnais had shared a photo of the athlete and asked, "Hey, @Twitter - can we talk about him yet?"

Hey, @Twitter - can we talk about him yet? ???? pic.twitter.com/nVn3nY9zBb

— Olympique Lyonnais ???????????????? (@OL_English) March 14, 2021

Twitter has not explained what caused the bug or revealed how many accounts were impacted by it.