Twitter has removed some accounts thought to be used to circumvent a ban on conspiracy-monger Alex Jones and Infowars, the company said Tuesday.
A Twitter spokesman confirmed that the accounts had been removed but provided no additional comment. The company says it usually does not discuss specific accounts.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones speaks outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., after listening to Facebook and Twitter executives testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on foreign influence operations and their use of social media, Sept. 5, 2018. Twitter said Sept. 6 that it was permanently banning right-wing conspiracy theorist Jones and his "Infowars" show for abusive behavior.. VOA
Twitter permanently suspended @realalexjones and @infowars from Twitter and Periscope in early September. It said it based that action in reports of tweets and videos that violated its policy against abusive behavior.
The company said it would continue to evaluate reports regarding other accounts potentially associated with @realalexjones or @infowars and would take action if it finds content that violates its rules or if other accounts are used to try to circumvent their ban.
Alex Jones (C), an American conspiracy theorist and radio show host, is escorted out of a crowd of protesters after he said he was attacked in Public Square on July 19, 2016, in Cleveland, during the second day of the Republican convention. (VOA)
Other tech companies, including PayPal, YouTube, Apple and Spotify, have limited or banned Jones' activities on their sites.
Infowars has said the moves are intended to sabotaging the site just weeks before the midterm elections.
On Twitter and elsewhere, Jones has done such things as describe survivors of a shooting in Parkland, Florida, "crisis actors" and saying the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 was fake. He had about 900,000 followers on Twitter. Infowars had about 430,000. (VOA)