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Rock legend Dave Davies—best known as the guitarist for The Kinks—implored Twitter's chief executive Elon Musk to stop the platform from adding “sensitive content” warnings under his posts as he promotes music to highlight the band's 60th anniversary.
The Kinks, formed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s, influencing Britpop acts like Blur and Oasis.
But the word "kinks"—which can refer to someone's unusual sexual preference—set off Twitter's censors and impaired Davies' ability to market the band properly.
Davies called on Musk to "please stop putting warnings on everything" from a band that is "just trying to promote" its music.
He accompanied his post with an image of a tweet that included a TikTok about The Kinks’ 60th anniversary that was blocked by Twitter's censors.
You can see Davies' tweet below.
\u201cDear @elonmusk would @Twitter please stop putting warnings on everything from \u2018the Kinks\u2019. We are just trying to promote our Kinks music @TheKinks #thekinks60\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676496304
In a follow-up tweet, Davies added that The Kinks are very much "a brand name" at this point because they've been around since 1963.
\u201cThe Kinks are a brand name. We have been called the Kinks since 1963\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
A Kinks fan later told Davies their own tweet about a version of The Kinks’ “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” received a warning from Twitter, which still hadn't removed the warning despite saying they would following an appeal.
\u201c@davedavieskinks @elonmusk @Twitter @TheKinks By the way . Though they said the warning was removed on appeal \u2026its still there\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676496304
Given the very specific nature of Davies' request, fans couldn't help but joke about it.
\u201c@davedavieskinks @RexChapman I am going to go out on a limb and say that Twitter has gotten much worse since Elmo took over. Also, love @TheKinks!\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
\u201c@davedavieskinks I would be complaining about this all day and all of the night. Elon, we're tired of waiting for you.\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
\u201c@davedavieskinks I would be complaining about this all day and all of the night. Elon, we're tired of waiting for you.\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
\u201c@davedavieskinks Elon tryin to Get (you) Back in the Line\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
\u201c@davedavieskinks @nutco I think the algorithm believes this is something to do with people who are into leather and chains.\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
\u201c@davedavieskinks @notnotnuanced C'mon Elon, give the people what they want\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
\u201c@davedavieskinks @Tribe_XX The Kinks, too hot for Twitter since 1963\u201d— Dave Davies (@Dave Davies) 1676499864
Davies later toldRolling Stone the warnings are not a new phenomenon because they've "been going on for quite a while" and he wishes he "had better answers.”
He added:
“The thing is, where’s it gonna end? There’s so many different words and phrases — people from Liverpool have slightly different meanings for words than people from London. It’s the same all over the world.”
Musk has not responded to Davies' request and Davies acknowledged his posts to Musk and Twitter have not made much headway.