Platform manipulation and spam policy - Twitter Help Center

In the case of a violation centering around the use of multiple accounts, you may be asked to choose one account to keep. The remaining accounts will be ... Skiptomaincontent HelpCenter Platformmanipulationandspampolicy Overview April2022 YoumaynotuseTwitter’sservicesinamannerintendedtoartificiallyamplifyorsuppressinformationorengageinbehaviorthatmanipulatesordisruptspeople’sexperienceonTwitter. WewantTwittertobeaplacewherepeoplecanmakehumanconnections,findreliableinformation,andexpressthemselvesfreelyandsafely.Tomakethatpossible,wedonotallowspamorothertypesofplatformmanipulation.WedefineplatformmanipulationasusingTwittertoengageinbulk,aggressive,ordeceptiveactivitythatmisleadsothersand/ordisruptstheirexperience. Platformmanipulationcantakemanyformsandourrulesareintendedtoaddressawiderangeofprohibitedbehavior,including: commercially-motivatedspam,thattypicallyaimstodrivetrafficorattentionfromaconversationonTwittertoaccounts,websites,products,services,orinitiatives;inauthenticengagements,thatattempttomakeaccountsorcontentappearmorepopularoractivethantheyare;coordinatedactivity,thatattemptstoartificiallyinfluenceconversationsthroughtheuseofmultipleaccounts,fakeaccounts,automationand/orscripting; andcoordinatedharmfulactivitythatencouragesorpromotesbehaviorwhichviolatestheTwitterRules.   Whatisinviolationofthispolicy? Underthispolicyweprohibitarangeofbehaviorsinthefollowingareas:   Multipleaccountsandcoordination Youcan’tmass-registerTwitteraccountsoruseautomationtocreateTwitteraccounts. Youcan’tartificiallyamplifyordisruptconversationsthroughtheuseofmultipleaccountsorbycoordinatingwithotherstoviolatetheTwitterRules. Thisincludes: overlappingaccounts–operatingmultipleaccountswithoverlappingusecases,suchasidenticalorsimilarpersonasorsubstantiallysimilarcontent;mutuallyinteractingaccounts–operatingmultipleaccountsthatinteractwithoneanotherinordertoinflateormanipulatetheprominenceofspecificTweetsoraccounts;andcoordination–creatingmultipleaccountstopostduplicativecontentorcreatefakeengagement,including:postingidenticalorsubstantiallysimilarTweetsorhashtagsfrommultipleaccountsyouoperate; engaging(Retweets,Likes,mentions,TwitterPollvotes)repeatedlywiththesameTweetsoraccountsfrommultipleaccountsthatyouoperate;coordinatingwithorcompensatingotherstoengageinartificialengagementoramplification,evenifthepeopleinvolveduseonlyoneaccount; andcoordinatingwithotherstoengageinorpromoteviolationsoftheTwitterRules,includingviolationsofourabusivebehaviorpolicy.   Engagementandmetrics Youcan’tartificiallyinflateyourownorothers’followersorengagement.Thisincludes: selling/purchasingTweetoraccountmetricinflation–sellingorpurchasingfollowersorengagements(Retweets,Likes,mentions,TwitterPollvotes);apps–usingorpromotingthird-partyservicesorappsthatclaimtoaddfollowersoraddengagementstoTweets;reciprocalinflation–tradingorcoordinatingtoexchangefollowsorTweetengagements(includingbutnotlimitedtoparticipationin“followtrains,”“decks,”and“RetweetforRetweet”behavior);andaccounttransfersorsales–selling,purchasing,trading,orofferingthesale,purchase,ortradeofTwitteraccounts,usernames,ortemporaryaccesstoTwitteraccounts.   MisuseofTwitterproductfeatures Youcan’tmisuseTwitterproductfeaturestodisruptothers’experience.Thisincludes:   TweetsandDirectMessages sendingbulk,aggressive,high-volumeunsolicitedreplies,mentions,orDirectMessages;postinganddeletingthesamecontentrepeatedly;repeatedlypostingidenticalornearlyidenticalTweets,orrepeatedlysendingidenticalDirectMessages;repeatedlypostingTweetsorsendingDirectMessagesconsistingoflinkssharedwithoutcommentary,sothatthiscomprisesthebulkofyourTweet/DirectMessageactivity;andTweetinganexistingphraseorcontentinaduplicativemanner,whetherindividuallyorinconcertwithotheraccounts.Learnmoreinourcopypastaandduplicatecontentpolicy. Following “followchurn”–followingandthenunfollowinglargenumbersofaccountsinanefforttoinflateone’sownfollowercount;indiscriminatefollowing–followingand/orunfollowingalargenumberofunrelatedaccountsinashorttimeperiod,particularlybyautomatedmeans;andduplicatinganotheraccount’sfollowers,particularlyusingautomation.   Engagement aggressivelyorautomaticallyengagingwithTweetstodrivetrafficorattentiontoaccounts,websites,products,services,orinitiatives.aggressivelyaddinguserstoListsorMoments.   Hashtags  usingatrendingorpopularhashtagwithanintenttosubvertormanipulateaconversationortodrivetrafficorattentiontoaccounts,websites,products,services,orinitiatives;andTweetingwithexcessive,unrelatedhashtagsinasingleTweetoracrossmultipleTweets.   URLs publishingorlinkingtomaliciouscontentintendedtodamageordisruptanotherperson’sbrowser(malware)orcomputerortocompromiseaperson’sprivacy(phishing);and postingmisleadingordeceptivelinks;e.g.,affiliatelinksandclickjackinglinks.   Whatisnotaviolationofthispolicy? Thefollowingarenotinviolationofthispolicy: postinglinkswithoutcommentaryoccasionally;coordinatingwithotherstoexpressideas,viewpoints,support,oroppositiontowardsacause,providedsuchbehaviordoesnotresultinviolationsoftheTwitterRules;andoperatingmultipleaccountswithdistinctidentities,purposes,orusecases.Theseaccountsmayinteractwithoneanother,providedtheydon’tviolateotherrules.Someexamplesinclude:organizationswithrelatedbutseparatechaptersorbranches,suchasabusinesswithmultiplelocations;operatingapersonalaccountinadditiontopseudonymousaccountsoraccountsassociatedwithyourhobbiesorinitiatives;andhobby/artisticbots.   Whocanreportviolationsofthispolicy? AnyonecanreportaccountsorTweetsviaourdedicatedreportingflow.Thesereportsareusedinaggregatetohelprefineourenforcementsystemsandidentifynewandemergingtrendsandpatternsofbehavior.    HowcanIreportviolationsofthispolicy? In-app Youcanreportthiscontentin-appasfollows: SelectReportTweetfromthe  icon.SelectIt'ssuspiciousorspam. SelecttheoptionthatbesttellsushowtheTweetissuspiciousorspreadingspam.Submityourreport.   Desktop Youcanreportthiscontentviadesktopasfollows: SelectReportTweetfromthe  icon.SelectIt'ssuspiciousorspam.SelecttheoptionthatbesttellsushowtheTweetissuspiciousorspreadingspam.Submityourreport. Reportform YoucanalsoreportthiscontentforreviewviaourspamreportingformbyselectingtheIwanttoreportspamonTwitteroption. Whathappensifyouviolatethispolicy? Theconsequencesforviolatingthispolicydependontheseverityoftheviolationaswellasanyprevioushistoryofviolations.Ouractionisalsoinformedbythetypeofspammyactivitythatwehaveidentified.Theactionswetakemayincludethefollowing:   Anti-spamchallenges Whenwedetectsuspiciouslevelsofactivity,accountsmaybelockedandpromptedtoprovideadditionalinformation(e.g.,aphonenumber)ortosolveareCAPTCHA.    DenylistingURLs We denylistorprovidewarningsaboutURLswebelievetobeunsafe.Readmoreaboutunsafelinks,includinghowtoappealifwe’vefalselyidentifiedyourURLasunsafe.   Tweetdeletionandtemporaryaccountlocks Iftheplatformmanipulationorspamoffenseisanisolatedincidentorfirstoffense,wemaytakeanumberofactionsrangingfromrequiringdeletionofoneofmoreTweetstotemporarilylockingaccount(s).Anysubsequentplatformmanipulationoffenseswillresultinpermanentsuspension.Inthecaseofaviolationcenteringaroundtheuseofmultipleaccounts,youmaybeaskedtochooseoneaccounttokeep.Theremainingaccountswillbepermanentlysuspended. Permanentsuspension Forsevereviolations,accountswillbepermanentlysuspendedatfirstdetection.Examplesofsevereviolationsinclude: operatingaccountswherethemajorityofbehaviorisinviolationofthepoliciesdescribedabove;usinganyofthetacticsdescribedonthispagetounderminetheintegrityofelections;buying/sellingaccounts;creatingaccountstoreplaceormimicasuspendedaccount;andoperatingaccountsthatTwitterisabletoreliablyattributetoentitiesknowntoviolatetheTwitterRules. Ifyoubelievethatyouraccountwaslockedorsuspendedinerror,youcansubmitanappeal. Additionalresources Learnmoreaboutourautomationrulesfordevelopers,ourelectionintegrityefforts,ourfinancialscampolicy,ourhackedmaterialspolicy,ourapproachtocoordinatedharmfulactivity,andourguidelinesforpromotionsandcontests. Learnmoreaboutourrangeofenforcementoptionsandourapproachtopolicydevelopmentandenforcement. Sharethisarticle Tweet ByusingTwitter’sservicesyouagreetoourCookiesUse.Weusecookiesforpurposesincludinganalytics,personalisation,andads. OK