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| © Provided by The Hill |
By Justin Wise, The Hill
Twitter has reportedly suspended multiple accounts linked to the far-right "Proud Boys" organization, a measure taken days before the Washington, D.C., "Unite the Right" rally is set to take place.
BuzzFeed News reported Friday that Twitter suspended the group's main account @ProudBoysUSA, in addition to its founder, Gavin McInnes', account because the two violated Twitter's policy on "violent extremist groups."
"We can confirm that these accounts have been suspended from Twitter and Periscope for violating our policy prohibiting violent extremist groups," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
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BuzzFeed notes that members of "Proud Boys" participated in the first "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year - a demonstration that turned deadly after a car rammed into a crowd and killed counter-protester, Heather Heyer.
Twitter's decision comes as it faces mounting scrutiny for its policies on what it considers "hateful content."
The company drew considerable backlash after it refused to remove the accounts of Infowars and its founder, Alex Jones, a prominent promoter of alt-right conspiracies, from its site this week.
This weekend's "Unite the Right" rally is expected to draw far-right protesters and counter-protesters on Sunday.
Twitter has reportedly suspended multiple accounts linked to the far-right "Proud Boys" organization, a measure taken days before the Washington, D.C., "Unite the Right" rally is set to take place.
BuzzFeed News reported Friday that Twitter suspended the group's main account @ProudBoysUSA, in addition to its founder, Gavin McInnes', account because the two violated Twitter's policy on "violent extremist groups."
"We can confirm that these accounts have been suspended from Twitter and Periscope for violating our policy prohibiting violent extremist groups," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
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BuzzFeed notes that members of "Proud Boys" participated in the first "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year - a demonstration that turned deadly after a car rammed into a crowd and killed counter-protester, Heather Heyer.
Twitter's decision comes as it faces mounting scrutiny for its policies on what it considers "hateful content."
The company drew considerable backlash after it refused to remove the accounts of Infowars and its founder, Alex Jones, a prominent promoter of alt-right conspiracies, from its site this week.
This weekend's "Unite the Right" rally is expected to draw far-right protesters and counter-protesters on Sunday.
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