Anonymous claims Twitter is wrongly suspending anti-terror #OPIsis accounts
Members of online activist group Anonymous have criticised Twitter for allegedly suspending accounts designed to harass Isis.
The claims follow figures from the social network released in February, which revealed that it has suspended over 125,000 accounts for containing content threatening or promoting "terrorist" acts.
According to the hacking collective, which declared a digital war on Isis last year, the micro-blogging site has taken down several of its members' accounts without warning following a revamp to its rules around online harassment.
Under an online campaign titled #OpISIS, Anonymous and several other digital activists have been regularly bombarding and alerting Twitter to accounts that promote hate speech.
Speaking to the Epoch Times, an Anonymous member calling themselves WauchulaGhost, claimed their account was removed for a short time without warning: “I never received an email from Twitter,” they said. The member also said that Twitter should give more credit to hackers, adding: “Who suspended 125,000 accounts? Anonymous, Anonymous-affiliated groups, and everyday citizens.
"You do realize if we all stopped reporting terrorist accounts and graphic images, Twitter would be flooded with terrorists.”
#OpISIS accounts have apparently been taken down one-by-one or as well as in groups, with Twitter reinstating the accounts after receiving streams of requests by other hackers.
A Twitter spokesperson said in an email to Epoch Times, “We have teams around the world actively investigating reports of rule violations, and they work with law enforcement entities when appropriate.”
Twitter has been actively trying to fight against hate speech over the past 12 months, with staff having met with senior White House officials and US intelligence agencies to help form counter-terrorism measures on social media. Despite the firms' best efforts, accounts can spring up as fast as they're removed, with an estimated 2,000 Isis-supporting Twitter profiles reported be active each day according to a study by George Washington University.