New York Times columnist Bret Stephens announced that he’s deactivating his Twitter account in the aftermath of his online spat with a man who insulted him.

“Twitter is a sewer. It brings out the worst in humanity,” Stephens posted. “I sincerely apologize for any part I’ve played in making it worse, and to anyone I’ve ever hurt. Thanks to all of my followers, but I’m deactivating this account.”

Time to do what I long ago promised to do. Twitter is a sewer. It brings out the worst in humanity. I sincerely apologize for any part I’ve played in making it worse, and to anyone I’ve ever hurt. Thanks to all of my followers, but I’m deactivating this account. — Bret Stephens (@BretStephensNYT) August 27, 2019

Stephen’s announcement comes after he flew off the handle on Dave Karpf, a media and public affairs professor for George Washington University who called him a “bedbug.” This appeared to be an off-hand joke about the news that the Times recently had a bedbug outbreak in their newsrooms.

Karpf posted a screenshot of an email he received from Stephens, which had a threatening tone to it since it challenged the professor to “come to my home, meet my wife and kids, talk to us for a few minutes, and then call me a ‘bedbug’ to my face.” The email was panned by many who saw it, especially since Stephens usually writes pieces supporting free speech.

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