Twitter Removes Hundreds of Accounts It Says Are Linked to Iran, Russia, Armenia

Twitter Removes Hundreds of Accounts It Says Are Linked to Iran, Russia, Armenia
The Twitter App is seen on an iPhone in Los Angeles, Calif., on July 22, 2019. Mike Blake/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

BRUSSELS—Twitter said on Tuesday it had taken down 373 accounts which it said had ties to Russia, Armenia, and Iran and had breached its platform manipulation policies.

The company said it had taken down 238 accounts operating from Iran for various violations of its policies.

Twitter said 100 accounts with Russian ties were removed for amplifying narratives that undermined faith in NATO and targeted the United States and the European Union.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow planned to look into the grounds for Twitter blocking the accounts, TASS news agency reported.

Twitter also said 35 accounts with ties to Armenia were taken down, adding that they had been created to target Azerbaijan.

“The 373 associated accounts across the four networks were permanently suspended from Twitter for violations of our platform manipulation policies,” the company said in a blog post.

By Foo Yun Chee and Thomas Balmforth