Twitter Resumes Crackdown on Tweetdecking


Twitter website on desktop computerOn Friday, Twitter continued its crusade against tweetdecking, a practice to copy-paste tweets that are not yours just for popularity, suspending several accounts that routinely steal tweets.

Those accounts include Common White Girl/@commonwhitegiri, @SoDamnTrue, @finah, Girl Code/@reiatabie, @teenagernotes, @memeprovider. Some of these accounts were so popular that they had millions of fans.

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However, Twitter thinks that manufactured virality through theft or mass-retweeting is not a good thing. Also, some of these accounts joined forces to mass-retweet their own tweets which created massive virality, which was later monetized.

Twitter wouldn’t give an official reason for why the accounts were suspended. But it is likely that these accounts infringed the website’s spam policy. Tweetdecking is against Twitter’s rules which bars users from “artificially inflating account interactions.”

Tweetdecking Is a Serious Issue

It is not the first time the micro-blogging website tries to take these accounts down. In January, the company unveiled new measures against spam and tweetdecking. One of those measures prevented users from retweeting the same content via multiple accounts.

Tweetdeckers were very upset at the news even though it is not the first time the platform suspends them. Nevertheless, it is the first time Twitter suspends so many accounts that engage in the practice, and some very popular ones like @GirlPosts and @Dory, which have millions of fans.

On the other hand, the suspensions were only temporary. So, tweetdeckers will be able to get back to business as soon as they are reinstated, like they did before. Infringing the website’s rules several times can trigger a permanent ban. Users who create new accounts to dodge suspension can also be banned permanently.

Twitter users who are accustomed to deckers on the platform are glad that justice has been served… at least temporarily.
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