Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 22-02-2018

Social media company Twitter has announced a crackdown on accounts powered by software “bots” which can artificially amplify a person or cause and which have been accused of manipulating the social network during the 2016 US election.

The San Francisco-based social network also says it would not allow people to use software to simultaneously perform other actions such as liking or retweeting from multiple accounts.

Twitter, known for freewheeling discussions in short messages, is under pressure from users and Western governments to stem the spread of false news and foreign propaganda, often done with the help of automated accounts known as bots.

Twitters Yoel Roth says the company’s new restrictions are aimed at improving “information quality.

“These changes are an important step in ensuring we stay ahead of malicious activity targeting the crucial conversations taking place on Twitter – including elections in the United States and around the world.”

The crackdown is part of an effort to weed out automated and fake accounts, a move which rankled some conservative personalities.

Some users woke on Wednesday to find a sharp drop in followers, prompting a series of hashtags on the platform such as #TwitterLockOut and #TwitterPurge.

Twitter says it would give users until March 23 to comply before suspending accounts, however it did make and an exception for bots of broad interest such as earthquake alerts.

Twitter: @FaizelPatel143