Elon Musk’s recent $44 billion acquisition of Twitter ruffled many a feather on the bird app, and things have quickly gone downhill since his tenure began in late October. 

A prominent free-speech advocate, the tech magnate declared “Comedy is now legal on Twitter” following his takeover. This was taken by many as a sign that no humour would be off-limits, and that Musk-era Twitter would be a haven for freedom of expression.

A noble idea on paper, but how has it played out in reality?

We’ve taken a look at some recent examples of comedy on Twitter and whether or not they were considered legal. 

COMEDY: Twitter user @arb changed their profile picture to an old, unflattering photo of Musk and their display name to ‘Elon Musk (real), before tweeting: “my wife left me”. 

HOW WELL DID FREE SPEECH ADVOCATE AND COMEDY SAVIOUR ELON MUSK TAKE THE JOKE?: The account has been suspended.

VERDICT: Illegal.

READ MORE: How Elon Musk could make Twitter users pay for free speech

COMEDY: Cartoonist @jephjacques used the same photo of Musk for his profile picture and changed his display name to ‘Elon Musk’. Referring to the 51-year-old’s former partner, he tweeted: “Grimes NEVER said I had a ‘weird d***’ and ‘smelled like nachos’, and if you repost this you will be arrested”. 

WAS FREE SPEECH ADVOCATE AND COMEDY SAVIOUR ELON MUSK ABLE TO LAUGH AT HIMSELF? The account has been suspended.

VERDICT: Illegal. 

COMEDY: Writer @ChrisWarcraft used the same profile picture currently being used by the real Musk and changed his display name to ‘Elon Musk’, before tweeting: “There is nothing better than waking up and enjoying a fresh, steaming cup of my own urine. Such a tangy way to start the day, and it’s scientifically proven to help brain cells grow. If you want to be like me, drink your pee”. 

DID FREE SPEECH ADVOCATE AND COMEDY SAVIOUR ELON MUSK SEE THE FUNNY SIDE? The account has been suspended. 

VERDICT: Illegal.

COMEDY: Mad Men actor Rich Sommer adopted the same profile picture, changed his name to ‘Elon Musk’ and fired off tweets impersonating Musk. 

These included: “okay, time to employ plan b, since they’re MAKING me keep Twitter. Does anyone know any advertisers who are, like, kind of ‘into’ racism? NOT ACTUAL RACISTS!! Just ad ppl who are, y’know, curious about what it’s all about (racism)”. 

HOW PLEASED WAS FREE SPEECH ADVOCATE AND COMEDY SAVIOUR ELON MUSK TO SEE JOKES BEING MADE ON HIS FREE SPEECH AND COMEDY PLATFORM? The account has been suspended. 

VERDICT: Illegal.

COMEDY: Satirical Australian Twitter account @chaser changed their display name to ‘Elom Musk’. 

HOW WELL DID FREE SPEECH ADVOCATE AND COMEDY SAVIOUR ELON MUSK TAKE THE JOKE? They received a message saying that their account had been temporarily restricted, on account of “misleading or confusing changes to your display name”. 

As of Monday October 7, their display name is ‘Elon Musk Fondles Dogs’. 

VERDICT: Illegal.

Meanwhile, Kanye West, who last month tweeted: “I’m going death con 3 (sic) on JEWISH PEOPLE” before going on to make several derogatory statements regarding Jewish people on various platforms, is back on Twitter. 

READ MORE: Kanye West may be a genius but his reputation is tarnished

On Sunday, Musk tweeted: “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended”. 

You might be tempted to say “This is yet more evidence that supposed ‘free speech advocates’ don’t actually mean ‘everyone should be able to say what they want’ and are really just saying ‘I should be able to say what I want’.”

Just don’t say that from an account called @ElonMuskIsAHypocrite.