• Twitter blocks dozens of accounts.
• ITF “permanently suspended” BNN accounts, spokeswoman claimed.
• Chahal was on probation for domestic abuse and battery in 2013.

Twitter blocked dozens of accounts purporting to be part of BNN, a “news network” created by Gurbaksh Chahal, a former internet entrepreneur who spent time in jail for domestic abuse and battery.

Insider’s Twitter search revealed 80 BNN-related accounts. Popular is @BNNBreaking. The 2015 account attracted followers by posting daily coronavirus case counts during the pandemic. It’s now a daily news account without links or citations.

Matthew Cortland, a lawyer and blogger, has drawn attention to the development of BNN accounts. All bios say Chahal “established” the accounts. On its website, BNN Networks calls itself “the future of breaking news” and says that the media are “influenced and swayed away from the truth.”

Twitter has “permanently suspended” all BNN accounts, a spokeswoman said. It is following its rules about spam and abusing the platform.

Chahal didn’t react to a comment email. Instead, he sent Insider’s email asking reaction to it, accusing Insider of “engineering” Twitter’s move.

Chahal, who used to run a software company, found guilty of domestic violence and battery in 2013 and put on probation for three years. He broke the law again in 2016, so he lost his probation and went to jail for six months.

He founded Medriva, a COVID-19 test supplier, after BNN.

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