Twitter Suspends Group of Pro-Bloomberg Accounts Over 'Platform Manipulation'

Twitter said the accounts violated its platform manipulation and spam policy, prohibiting coordination among accounts to amplify or disrupt conversation.

By Reuters | Updated: 22 February 2020 15:02 IST

Twitter Suspends Group of Pro-Bloomberg Accounts Over 'Platform Manipulation'

Twitter has taken action against roughly 70 accounts so far

Highlights

Twitter has permanently suspended some of the pro-Bloomberg accounts
A few of the accounts have been sent ownership verification prompts
Twitter says it opposes creating artificial engagement or amplification

Twitter on Friday said it had started suspending and restricting dozens of accounts posting content promoting US Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.

"We took enforcement action on about 70 accounts, which includes a combination of permanent suspensions and account challenges to verify ownership," a Twitter spokeswoman said in a statement to Reuters.

The action was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

The Bloomberg campaign did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Twitter said the accounts violated its platform manipulation and spam policy, which prohibits coordination among accounts to amplify or disrupt conversation by using multiple accounts.

This can refer to creating several accounts to post duplicative content but also includes "coordinating with or compensating others to engage in artificial engagement or amplification, even if the people involved use only one account."

Twitter Introduces 'Continue Thread' Option to Make Connecting Tweets Easier

The billionaire candidate's campaign, which has been pouring unparalleled amounts of money into an online advertising campaign, is also hiring hundreds of digital organizers to support the candidate, including by pushing content to their own social media channels.

The Wall Street Journal reported that these organizers in California receive $2,500 (roughly Rs. 179,000) a month to promote Bloomberg's candidacy through actions such as posting on social media to their own networks.

This month, a paid partnership between the former New York mayor's campaign and popular Instagram meme accounts pushed Facebook to announce it was allowing US-based political candidates to run branded or sponsored content on its social networking platforms.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.