Skip to main content

Twitter has closed 125,000 accounts suspected of promoting terrorism

Terrorist groups have used social media effectively, particularly Twitter, to disseminate propaganda and recruit sympathizers, among other practices. Twitter and other social networks have been criticized for not doing enough to stop terrorist activities online, but Twitter has just revealed that since 2015, it has suspended more than 125,000 accounts “for threatening or promoting terrorist acts, primarily related to ISIS,” also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, and Daesh.

The report, posted on Twitter’s Policy blog, is the first time the social network has provided details of the efforts made in fighting extremism. They include increasing the size of teams that review reports, to reduce response time; looking into accounts similar to those reported; and using spam-fighting tools to look for “potentially violating accounts.”

Recommended Videos

Since mid-2015, we have suspended over 125,000 accounts for threatening or promoting terrorist acts. Read more here: https://t.co/FQJeOTtPLz

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) February 5, 2016

The company says it has cooperated with law enforcement agencies when appropriate, and are partnering with “organizations working to counter extremist content online,” such as People Against Violent Extremism and Institute for Strategic Dialogue. It’s also sending its global public policy team to events and training sessions on countering violent extremism. After the November 13 attacks in Paris, in 2015, Twitter reportedly met with French officials on developing counter-strategy measures to combat terrorism.

Twitter campaign in #Saudi leads to closure of 300 #Daesh accounts. #UnitedAgainstDaesh
http://t.co/UZZUQIPRNh

— مركز صواب (@sawabcenterAR) October 11, 2015

Twitter says the network is an “open platform for expression” that strikes a “balance between the enforcement of our own Twitter Rules covering prohibited behaviors, the legitimate needs of law enforcement, and the ability of users to share their views freely — including views that some people may disagree with or find offensive.”

But as we have seen, for every account that’s shut down, more are created. Twitter acknowledges that, saying there is no “magic algorithm” for identifying terrorist content and “forced to make challenging judgement calls based on very limited information and guidance.” The company says it will continue to enforce those rules and work with authorities and organizations “to find solutions to this critical issue and promote power counter-speed narratives, while other researchers are developing technologies that could help Twitter. Free-speech advocates will no doubt questions if this could lead to censorship, as Twitter and other social networks are faced with the difficult task of providing an open forum.

Les Shu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I am formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends. I bring with me more than a decade of tech and lifestyle journalism…
How to deactivate your Instagram account (or delete it)
A person holding a phone with the Instagram app open on it.

Oh, social media. Sometimes it’s just too much, folks.

If you’re finding yourself in a position where shutting down your Instagram account for a period of time sounds good, the people at Meta have made it pretty simple to deactivate it. It’s also quite easy to completely delete your Instagram, although we wouldn’t recommend this latter option if you plan on returning to the platform at a later date.

Read more
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Incogni: Recover your privacy and remove personal information from the internet
Incogni remove your personal data from brokers and more

Everything you do while online is tracked digitally. Often connected to your email address or an issued IP, trackers can easily identify financial details, sensitive information like your social security number, demographics, contact details, like a phone number or address, and much more. In many ways, this information is tied to a digital profile and then collated, recorded, and shared via data brokers. There are many ways this information can be scooped up and just as many ways, this information can be shared and connected back to you and your family. The unfortunate reality is that, for most of us, we no longer have any true privacy.

The problem is exacerbated even more if you regularly use social media, share content or images online, or engage in discussions on places like Reddit or community boards. It's also scary to think about because even though we know this information is being collected, we don't necessarily know how much is available, who has it, or even what that digital profile looks like.

Read more