Twitter takes down over 500 accounts a day after violence during farmer rally

Twitter’s spokesperson said they have also applied labels to tweets that were found to be in violation of synthetic and manipulated media policy

Twitter on Wednesday took down over 500 accounts for “spam and platform manipulation” related to the farmers’ rally that turned violent on Tuesday.

Security personnel baton charge a protester during clashes after farmers' tractor rally turned violent, in New Delhi, on Tuesday. (PTI)

“We have taken strong enforcement action to protect the conversation on the service from attempts to incite violence, abuse, and threats that could trigger the risk of offline harm by blocking certain terms that violate our rules for trends,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added the decision was taken based on a “combination of technology and human review”. “Twitter worked at scale and took action judiciously and impartially on hundreds of accounts and tweets that have been in violation of the Twitter rules, and suspended more than 500 accounts engaged in spam and platform manipulation regardless of their political beliefs, background, and affiliations.”

The spokesperson said they have also applied labels to tweets that were found to be in violation of synthetic and manipulated media policy. “We are monitoring the situation closely and remain vigilant, and strongly encourage those on the service to report anything they believe is in violation of the rules.”

People aware of the matter said the action should not be linked or seen in the context of any particular group. “To state explicitly, this action is not only limited to accounts that may be linked to the conversation about Khalistan,” a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.