The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has consistently called for clear
guidelines from tech companies to target and remove the “worst of the worst” ter


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Tech & Terrorism: Twitter Fails To Consistently Remove Houthi And IRGC Accounts

 

(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has consistently called
for clear guidelines from tech companies to target and remove the “worst of the
worst” terrorist and extremist material on their platforms. One clause within
Twitter’s terms of service agreement even explicitlystates
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no place on Twitter for violent organizations, including terrorist
organizations, violent extremist groups, or individuals who affiliate with and
promote their illicit activates.” However, Twitter’s latest failure to remove
all accounts belonging to theHouthis
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Guard Corps
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(IRGC), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, demonstrates that
the company’s policies are not enforced consistently—allowing for the spread of
posted violent threats and propaganda.

 

On April 9, Twitter suspended
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Houthi spokespersonYahya Sarea
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used to threaten “new attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and
any other country participating in the Arab coalition fighting the Houthis,” as
well as to claim responsibility for numerous Houthi drone and missile attacks
on Saudi Arabia. However, following the account’s suspension, “several new
Arabic accounts claiming to belong to him” cropped back up on Twitter, and an
English-language account in Sarea’s name reportedly remains active. The Houthis
are an Iranian-backed, Shiite Muslim armed religious and political movement in
Yemen. The group has waged a series of bloody insurgencies against the Yemeni
government since 2004, overthrowing them and seizing power in Sanaa in 2015.

 

While Twitter has rightly removed one of Sarea’s accounts, it has failed to do
so for accounts linked to the IRGC—Iran’s main link to its terrorist proxies,
including the Houthis, which the Islamic Republic uses to boost Iran’s global
influence. CEP recently flagged official and supporter accounts for Twitter to
remove. The first, an official account of the IRGC, has been online since
December 2020 and has nearly 28,000 followers. As recently as April 10, 2022,
the account posted a video threatening and glorifying violence, which has since
garnered more than 200,000 views.

Screenshot of threatening video, posted April 10, 2022

 

Additionally, Twitter has explicitly refused to remove the second account,
which promotes pro-IRGC propaganda. It has been online since July 2015 and has
more than 700 followers. On January 15, 2022, the account posted a video with
the caption “You know we will do it,” explicitly and directly threatening to
murder former U.S. President Donald J. Trump and former Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo. In its refusal to suspend or remove the account, Twitter simply stated
that the account “hasn’t broken [its] safety policies.” In the same response,
the company also contradicts itself by stating that “threatening violence
against someone or a group of people” “isn’t allowed.”

Screenshots of video explicitly and directly threatening to assassinate
President Trump and Secretary Pompeo

Partial screenshot of Twitter’s reply regarding the account

 

By removing a Houthis-related account while permitting IRGC official and
unofficial accounts to operate on its platform, Twitter demonstrates the
ineffectiveness of its policies and policy enforcement mechanisms. Content
created by or in support of the Houthis or IRGC—both of which have leaders who
are internationally sanctioned—surely qualifies as “worst of the worst” and
must be kept off major tech platforms. Rather than providing vague
justifications for allowing terrorist groups on its platform, the company
should dedicate the necessary resources and expertise to ensure that its
policies are applied transparently and consistently.

 

To read CEP’s resource Yahya Sarea, please click here
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To read CEP’s resource Houthis, please click here
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To read CEP’s resource Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), please click
here
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.

 

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