{"id":41924,"date":"2017-12-20T08:04:17","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T08:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/the-great-twitter-purge-is-here\/"},"modified":"2017-12-20T08:04:17","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T08:04:17","slug":"the-great-twitter-purge-is-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/the-great-twitter-purge-is-here\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Twitter Purge Is Here"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AP Photo\/Isa Simsek, Zaman<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

byAllum Bokhari<\/a>19 Dec 20170<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter has begun its long-anticipated purge of right-wing and far-right accounts, under the guise of cracking down on \u201cviolent extremism.\u201d Meanwhile, far-left accounts connected to real-world violence remain active on the platform.<\/h2>\n

So far, the Twitter purge includes multiple accounts connected to the alt-right and \u201crace realism,\u201d including Jared Taylor and the account of white advocacy magazine American Rennaissance. The publisher of the alt-right magazine Occidental Dissent also received a ban.<\/p>\n

Also banned was the deputy leader of Britain First, Jayda Fransen, who was retweeted<\/a> by President Trump last month.<\/p>\n

Proud Boy Magazine, the account of the pro-western fraternal organization founded by CRTV honest Gavin McInnes, was also kicked off Twitter.<\/p>\n

Also purged was the European identitarian group Generation Identity, and the English Defence League, an anti-Islamization group founded by Rebel Media contributor Tommy Robinson.<\/p>\n

Twitter says<\/a> that they are targeting their bans against groups and individuals that are connected to \u201cviolent extremism\u201d and organizations that \u201cuse or promote violence against civilians to further their cause.\u201d Twitter announced<\/a> last month they are will now monitor and sanction users for behavior that does not take place on their platform, including offline behavior.<\/p>\n

American Renaissance rejects claims that they support or advocate violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese bans prove that the purge is politically motivated. We were careful to follow the Terms of Service \u2013 even the new ones\u201d said Henry Wolff, assistant editor of American Rennaissance. \u201cWe had no involvement in Charlottesville or any other activism, for that matter. We\u2019ve never supported violence or those who do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pawl Bazile of Proud Boy Magazine said that his group is not even affiliated with the alt-right.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Proud Boys are a pro-western fraternal organization founded by Gavin McInnes of CRTV\u201d said Bazile. \u201cWe are not alt-right and have taken a hard stance against racism (and identity politics in general). We are libertarian\/conservative and apparently, this was all it took to get suspended from Twitter out of the blue.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November, Roger Stone\u2019s \u201cStone Cold Truth\u201d account, right-wing commentator and sci-fi author Vox Day, and Sam Hyde\u2019s comedy group Million Dollar Extreme were all permanently suspended<\/a> from the platform, while anti-Islam commentator Tommy Robinson and journalist Laura Loomer were stripped of their verification badges.<\/p>\n

Roger Stone\u2019s personal account was also suspended from the platform in October after he insulted CNN anchors, and in September, Twitter suspended two popular right-wing transgender commentators, Theryn Meyer and Michelle Catlin.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, far-left groups that are tied to violent activism remain on the platform. It\u2019s Going Down<\/a>, the premier news site of the violent \u201cAntifa\u201d movement still have their Twitter account, despite openly advocating vandalism<\/a> and violence against the police.<\/a><\/p>\n

One article<\/a> on IGD\u2019s site describes the act of throwing rocks and bottles at the police as \u201cbasic self-defense.\u201d Another article (now-deleted) bragged about sabotaging train tracks<\/a> to prevent fracking equipment from reaching its destination.<\/p>\n

By Any Means Necessary<\/a>, the group responsible for numerous acts of political violence in California, also retains their Twitter account, as does their leader, Yvette Felarca,<\/a> who went on TV to defend<\/a> violent protests, and is currently facing criminal charges<\/a> of assault and causing a riot.<\/p>\n

Felcara has been caught on camera engaging in violence.<\/p>\n