More than a million Twitter accounts have been deactivated or suspended in the week since Elon Musk's takeover, report says

• Almost 900,000 users have deactivated their Twitter accounts since Elon Musk took over.
• That's according to analysis by Bot Sentinel, first reported by the MIT Technology Review.

An analysis of Twitter accounts suggests that more than a million users have left the platform in the week following Elon Musk's takeover, MIT Technology Review reported.

Bot Sentinel, a platform which tracks Twitter accounts using artificial intelligence, says that more than 1.3 million accounts were either deactivated or suspended in the six days after it was confirmed that Musk had taken ownership of the social network.

Of the 3 million accounts which Bot Sentinel monitors, around 18,000, or 0.6%, were shut down. That's triple the amount from the week before the world's richest person took control of Twitter.

Bot Sentinel's analysis suggests that around 877,000 accounts were deactivated, and 497,000 more were suspended, between the October 27 takeover and November 1.

Bot Sentinel's founder, Christopher Bouzy, said: "We believe the uptick in deactivations is a result of people upset with Elon Musk purchasing Twitter and deciding to deactivate their accounts in protest."

Celebrities like "Bridgerton" creator Shonda Rhimes are among those who've said they are quitting Twitter in recent days. Numerous top executives have also either quit or been fired from the company, with around 50% of staff expected to be laid off starting Friday.

The large number of suspensions may also point to users testing what they are allowed to say as Musk looks to revamp Twitter's rules on free speech. Bouzy told MIT Technology Review that he believes Twitter was "taking action on accounts purposely violating Twitter's rules to see if they can push the limits."

Previous research from the Network Contagion Research Institute said that use of the N-word on Twitter increased by 500% in the 12 hours after Musk's deal was finalized.

The exodus could spell trouble for Twitter, as Musk looks to increase revenues at the company and bring it to profitability. He plans to introduce a controversial $8 monthly charge for verification, and, per the Washington Post, a "paywalled video" feature which has been compared to OnlyFans.

The New York Times reported that the site has not turned a profit in eight of the last ten years, while the debt incurred by Musk's deal requires $1 billion a year in interest payments alone.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.