Twitter,
the social media giant, is facing mounting questions from members of
Congress and outside groups over the abuse of its network by Islamic
State terrorists to spread propaganda and recruit foreign fighters.
An
upcoming report has identified as many as 46,000 Twitter accounts that
were being used by IS sympathizers during a three-month period last fall
— making it by far the most popular social media service for the terror
group, according to J.M. Berger, who conducted the study, to be
published next month by the Brookings Institution.
But
in recent weeks, how Twitter — as well as other social media companies
such as YouTube and Facebook — polices this content is emerging as a
central issue in a vexing debate that pits the limits of free speech
against the government’s need to confront the aggressive messaging of IS
and related terror groups. It is expected to be a prime topic of a
social media panel scheduled today at a White House summit on
“countering violent extremism.”
“This is the way [IS] is recruiting — they are getting people
to leave their homelands and become fighters,” said Rep. Ted Poe,
R-Texas, the chair of a House foreign affairs subcommittee on terrorism,
who held a recent hearing on the issue.
While acknowledging that
IS propagandists use all social media platforms, Poe said “there is
frustration with Twitter specifically” over what he views as its
insufficient response to pleas to shut down clear incitements to
violence.
Poe
told Yahoo News that he and other members of Congress will be sending a
letter to Twitter CEO Dick Costolo this week demanding that the firm
take more active measures to shut down IS tweeters. “We want them to
treat this the same as child pornography,” said Poe, noting that the
firm has been far more vigilant in shutting down obscene images than it
has with those containing extremist and violent content.
But
Twitter officials say the criticisms are misplaced and that its
policies are no different from those of other social media companies,
which rely on the public to report abuses. Officials also say the
critics ignore behind-the-scenes cooperation the firm has been providing
to the FBI, which at times seeks to use Twitter to track and, with
luck, identify IS tweeters.
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