An Al-Qaida Twitter account has been suspended. On Jan. 25, the LA Times reported that Twitter suspended an account that was run by Somali extremists linked to Al-Qaida. This action followed a tweet that had a link for a video entitled "Kenyan POWS: The Final Message."
The video showed a Kenyan hostage begging Kenyans to "pressure their government to ensure the captives are freed." Shabab militants also appeared in the video. They requested that "Kenya unconditionally release Muslim prisoners held on terrorism charges and meet other conditions." Another tweet gave the Kenyans 3 weeks to abide and threatened the death of the hostages otherwise.
The Al-Qaida Twitter account has been shut down and it's not likely that Twitter will allow the account to be reopened. Of course that doesn't mean that the extremists won't open another account, but any suspicious activity will likely be suspended once more. The account name was fairly unassuming, "@HSMPress," giving few people to question who was behind it. However, the tweets sent out from the account were pretty disturbing.
"Twitter said it did not comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons, but referred to its terms of service, which state, 'You may not publish or post direct, specific threats of violence against others,'" LA Times reports.
This Al-Qaida Twitter account may not be the only one of its kind. If you come across something that doesn't look right or that violates Twitter's terms of service, you are encouraged to report it.
© Effie Orfanides 2013
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