by Twitter states bot “coordination manipulation” is the reason it’s suspended 770 accounts over the past week, as it further seeks to clean-up its platform…
It’s fairly common knowledge Twitter has a huge bot problem. And, it’s also where plenty of misleading information is disseminated. Recently, the microblog has begun cleaning up its digital space. Now, it’s acting more diligently to detect and remove problematic content, including false news and outright fake accounts.
Twitter Bot “Coordination Manipulation” Accounts Suspended
Last week, Twitter suspended 284 accounts for “coordination manipulation,” and now, it’s dealt a blow to another 486. Most of the profiles were under a year old and only had 1,268 followers between them. All together, Twitter has suspended 770 accounts:
Since our initial suspensions last Tuesday, we have continued our investigation, further building our understanding of these networks. In addition, we suspended an additional 486 accounts for violating the policies outlined last week. This brings the total suspended to 770.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) August 27, 2018
Although these actions are long overdue and represent a welcome change, it does bring yet another problem to light. That is, just how many accounts aren’t real. And, how many genuine accounts are actually on the platform. Twitter confirmed in July its monthly usership fell in Q2 2018 to 335 million, down from 336 million. But, it does appear the affected profiles only account for a very small percentage of the microblog’s user base:
“Fewer than 100 of the 770 suspended accounts claimed to be located in the U.S. and many of these were sharing divisive social commentary. On average, these 100 Tweeted 867 times, were followed by 1, 268 accounts, and were less than a year old.”
Twitter has also recently deleted accounts which attempted to circumvent suspensions. The company has likewise paused its verification process reform as it seeks to clean up its platform.
