Twitter has been suspending accounts for sharing information about Russia’s movement towards an invasion of Ukraine.
In the prelude to Russia’s imminent invasion, Twitter has taken down various posts containing vital information about Russia’s imminent invasion of Ukraine.
Over the past week, Twitter has proved a crucial resource for accessing information about Russia’s now-very-real threats to invade their neighbouring country.
Videos of Russian helicopter movement and convoys of tanks heading towards the Ukrainian border have helped the world comprehend the alien situation currently unfolding in eastern Europe.
But other important resources have been removed from the platform after Twitter suspended the accounts that posted them.
Kyle Glen, an open source intelligence (OSINT) researcher was locked out of his account twice in a single day for debunking false claims of a “Ukrainian attack into Russia.”
I am back again after having been locked out twice in 24 hours. First time for a post debunking the "foiled sabotage / gas attack" and second time for a post debunking the "Ukrainian attack into Russia". @Twitter needs to do something against these locks now.
— Oliver Alexander (@OAlexanderDK) February 23, 2022
Other OSINT Twitter accounts have been suspended for similar posts, including French based account ‘Neurone Intelligence’ and ‘Mundo en Conflicto’ in Spain.
Twitter spokesperson Elizabeth Busby has claimed that the suspensions were a mistake.
“We’ve been proactively monitoring for emerging narratives that are violative of our policies, and, in this instance, we took enforcement action on a number of accounts in error,” Busby said in a statement.
“We’re expeditiously reviewing these actions and have already proactively reinstated access to a number of affected accounts.”
Twitter seems to view themselves as the modern day MythBusters of the online world, and that’s great in theory. But their fact-checking team needs to be on the ball if they want to reach the same status as Adam and Jamie.
