Twitter Filled With Graphic Images And Extremist Views, Despite ISIS Account Suspension

Despite Twitter's suspension of an account linked to armed militants in Iraq on Friday, the micro-blogging service still hosts extreme groups and their graphic images and messages.

Twitter didn't offer explanation for why it suspended the account affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an al Qaeda offshoot group that is leading the militant uprising in northern Iraq, BuzzFeed reported. But the company’s policies allow for the suspension of accounts that share excessively violent images or messages. It also bars targeted abuse and harassment. However, Twitter rarely locates this type of content, and many offensive posts remain available for public viewing. A quick sample includes:

The ISIS-aligned account, @Abualbawi, which is currently sharing graphic images of purportedly Shiite casualties including children.

In February, the account of ISIS supporter @reyadiraq live-tweeted the amputation of a man’s hand from Syria. A series of three pictures showed a sword-wielding man attack the blindfolded prisoner as a crowd looked on. The Washington Post took screengrabs but said the final image was too graphic and bloody to post.

Twitter ultimately suspended the account after the messages were posted. And in the last year and a half, it has also suspended the official accounts of extremist groups such as al Qaeda, Indian Mujahideen (the terror group likely responsible for the 2011 Mumbai bomb attacks) and Somalia's al-Shabab, which was behind the Westgate mall attacks in Nairobi in September that left nearly 70 people dead.