"Twitter Starts Banning Extremists Under New Rules"

variety.com

"Twitter banned a number of accounts associated with far-right extremists Monday morning, including at least one that has been retweeted by President Trump, as it began to institute new rules against hate and harassment. However, the President’s own account will be safe from any such steps for the time being, thanks to an exception that shields government-linked accounts.

Some of the accounts banned on Monday included the Traditionalist Worker Party, a group of white supremacists known for its anti-semitism, the pro-confederate League of the South, as well as the American Nazi Party. Twitter also banned accounts from individuals associated with these groups, as well as far-right extremists from the U.K., including the anti-immigrant group Britain First.

The latter rose to prominence after Trump retweeted islamophobic videos posted by one of its leaders last month, prompting international condemnation. Those videos disappeared from Trump’s Twitter timeline Monday, as the group’s deputy leader was banned as well.

'We’re making these changes to create a safer environment for everyone,' Twitter said in a blog post Monday. 'In our efforts to be more aggressive here, we may make some mistakes and are working on a robust appeals process. We’ll evaluate and iterate on these changes in the coming days and weeks, and will keep you posted on progress along the way.'"