One of the more terrifying aspects of ISIS is their unyielding devotion to recruitment. They’re also technologically savvy, even taking the trouble to staff a help desk of sorts. This concept sounds ridiculous, but budding terrorists use the resources to facilitate going dark. These extremists spread their messages on social media, where they “meet” in public. Twitter is one of the chosen social media forms favored by jihadists, which averages about 1,000 followers for each ISIS-affiliated account. Those bent on terrorism then move to a private communication method with encryption.
Twitter is now taking steps to eliminate the use of their public platform for would-be or established terrorists. If nothing else, making mayhem a little less convenient could save some lives. CNBC reports how Twitter realized things were getting out of control, so they shut down over 125,000 accounts. Get ready for some sobering statistics:
Twitter is providing new detail Friday about its efforts to fight ISIS and violent extremism online … tthe social media company said it has stepped up its fight against violent extremism online. Since the middle of 2015, the company said, it has suspended over 125,000 accounts for threatening or promoting terrorist attacks — primarily related to support for ISIS.
The Brookings Institution estimated in a report last year that there were at least 46,000 Twitter accounts used by ISIS supporters. The new figure revealed by Twitter would suggest that either ISIS has drastically increased its presence on the service since that year, or that Twitter has gotten more effective in identifying terrorist accounts.
Twitter will also beef up the number of employees tasked with detecting and policing terrorist-like behavior. To a certain extent, Twitter followers do some policing too, which was evidenced when countless users trolled a call for ISIS recruits. However, social media has come under scrutiny for making it easy for terrorists to disseminate information, and as a private company, Twitter has the freedom to shut down such speech without a challenge.
Now Watch: What To Know About Anonymous As They Wage War On ISIS
(Via CNBC