Twitter blamed the deletion of President Trump’s Twitter account on Thursday night on a rogue customer support employee. That employee has since been hailed in social media as a hero and as a scourge for acting against the president, who said the move reflected the impact his Twitter messages have had.

“My Twitter account was taken down for 11 minutes by a rogue employee. I guess the word must finally be getting out-and having an impact.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Nov. 3, 2017”

Yet it turns out the rogue employee was not a full-time employee at Twitter at all, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details are confidential. The person who shut down Mr. Trump’s account was a contractor, the people said.