
Audio By Carbonatix
Twitter's war against terrorism is escalating.
The social media company said in a blog post Thursday that it has suspended 235,000 accounts for promoting terrorism in the last six months.
In total, Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) has suspended 360,000 accounts since the middle of 2015.
While the company didn't identify the terrorist groups or specific accounts, it's likely many are affiliated with ISIS, which has been particularly active on Twitter and other social networks to spread propaganda and attract new recruits.
"We strongly condemn these acts and remain committed to eliminating the promotion of violence or terrorism on our platform," Twitter said in the blog post.
Twitter said it is leaning on a combination of spam-fighting tools, expanded teams reviewing abuses and new partnerships with organizations fighting violent extremism. This has helped identify more accounts and prevent those users from returning after getting suspended.
Related: ISIS supporters threaten Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey
"Our response time for suspending reported accounts, the amount of time these accounts are on Twitter, and the number of followers they accumulate have all decreased dramatically," the company said.
Those efforts appear to be working. The Obama administration said last month that Twitter traffic for ISIS has declined significantly over the past two years.
Facebook (FB, Tech30) and YouTube have also reportedly taken steps in recent months to suspend accounts or block violent content shared by ISIS supporters.
ISIS supporters, meanwhile, have gone so far as to threaten the founders of Twitter and Facebook for suspending accounts.
Twitter's apparent success in combating terrorism on its platform comes amid renewed criticism of the social network's attempts, or lack thereof, to combat harassment.
A BuzzFeed article claimed the company had favored free speech over effective anti-harassment policies.
Twitter also moved to address this issue on Thursday by announcing two tools to help people filter out some of the noise and potential abuse on the platform.
The first, called a Quality Filter, gives users the option to filter out "low quality content," including posts that are automated or duplicates.
The other feature lets users tweak their settings to only see notifications from people they follow on the social network, potentially filtering out all the trolls.
Latest Stories
-
Italy proposes 3,000 hectare mechanised cocoa farm as COCOBOD explores new partnership
45 seconds -
Adu Boahene trial: EOCO investigator says no complaint sparked GH¢49.1m probe
1 minute -
Photos: Mahama meets global health leaders to discuss Africa’s health sovereignty
3 minutes -
President Mahama discusses health-related matters with top UN officials
4 minutes -
SABC apologises after falsely linking Ghana to Ebola outbreak
14 minutes -
Ecobank, Mantrac Ghana partner to boost equipment financing for local businesses
17 minutes -
No formal report of MMDAs issuing permits for mining equipment – Lands Minister says despite JoyNews investigation
18 minutes -
When the assignment has two authors: One human, one AI
26 minutes -
BoG reviews effectiveness of cash reserve ratio reform
29 minutes -
I will lead Ashanti with less speeches and more work; COKA optimistic of victory in NPP Chairmanship race
33 minutes -
Minority MPs wear black in Parliament to protest Wontumi’s 20-year jail sentence
42 minutes -
She is already powering Ghana’s economy – Now fintech must learn to serve her
44 minutes -
20-year sentence for Wontumi is within the law NPP enacted – Inusah Fuseini
45 minutes -
Efua Sutherland Park land belongs to the state, Armah-Kofi Buah tells Parliament
58 minutes -
‘Ofori-Atta remains a fugitive from justice in Ghana’ – OSP insists despite US court ruling
58 minutes