Twitter Suspends 10,000 ISIS Accounts
The social media company Twitter carried out its single largest purge of accounts that support the activities of the terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State.
The New York Times reports that the company says it suspended 10,000 accounts April 2. The basis for the suspensions was that they were the source of violent threats, which are a violation of Twitter's terms of service.
There is no way to confirm the data Twitter cited, because it is proprietary, but the Times notes that some experts on ISIS have estimated there could be as many as 90,000 pro-ISIS accounts on the social network.
Before this most recent purge, Twitter closed around 2,000 accounts per week that had been affiliated with the group. Twitter has been one of the most effective means for the group to spread its propaganda. When ISIS release a series of videos showing the gruesome executions of hostages, they would often circulate on the social media website.
The Times says that the large number of suspensions was due to an increase in the amount of reports about ISIS accounts from other members of the site. The hacktivist collective Anonymous recently announced a dedicated effort to name, shame, and hack ISIS accounts.
Although the accounts have been suspended, people can just create another account and continue with their propagandizing. The Times notes one example of an account that seems to belong to a user who has been suspended 122 times. The person uses the same account name, adding a number for each suspension. The user is currently on 123.
