Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 202 posts

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#111

Post by supergreg »

mi100hael wrote: post #93
sushid wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article EXPLICITLY states: > Of those, roughly 95 percent were identified by the company’s spam-fighting automation tools So yes, your hunch is right, but it's also mentioned in the article.

To be fair, it also EXPLICITLY states: > Twitter said about 75 percent of the blocked accounts this year were spotted before a single tweet was sent So the impact to average users is probably not very substantial.

How do they know the account was from an actual terrorist or from a Viagra salesbot if it never made a post?

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#112

Post by MrZongle2 »

i_cant_speel wrote: post #51
alexasmyths wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'The pen is mightier than the sword'. The tweets are valuable propaganda to ISIS. They are consumed by billions of young impressionable minds all over the world, inducing them to 'take up the cause'. ISIS does not have the right to 'free speech'. Stopping ISIS from spreading their selfie vids of how they burned people alive and 'You can too!' - is not controversial.

Unbelievably, it looks like it is controversial.

Censoring terrorist groups isn't controversial.

The vague, shifting notion of what constitutes "terrorism" and how that definition may be abused in the future, is.

Consider, if you will, what a modern-day Sedition Act of 1918 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Act_of_1918 ) would look like.

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#113

Post by Pxtl »

astura wrote: post #94
katastic wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your guess would be 100% correct. We built huge spy networks only to find out that the terrorists don't even use the internet for their plans. They use burner phones and other non-tech solutions (paper?! omgawdwtf.) because (surprise!) they're harder to track on a systematic level.

Before he was killed Bin Laden communicated with his inner circle only by USB drives transported by sneakernet - his bunker lacked Internet connection but his communications were electronic. I think some of his communication was re-transmitted by his couriers over the Internet though but not through locations that were physically near where he was hiding.

Really, he didn't have internet? I remember his final video and it was so laden with modern political jargon I'm really surprised - I kind of figured he'd spent the decade in hiding surfing political forums.

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#114

Post by pjc50 »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #71
sushid wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article EXPLICITLY states: > Of those, roughly 95 percent were identified by the company’s spam-fighting automation tools So yes, your hunch is right, but it's also mentioned in the article.

Missed that, thanks. Great to know that robots are running our censorship tools now!

"Robots" have run our "censorship" tools for two decades of spam-fighting. Even on the decentralised USENET platform, back when one third of traffic was spam and one third was spam cancels.

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#115

Post by grandalf »

slg wrote: post #109
grandalf wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But no drone strike is launched with the sole intent of killing civilians. That is a world of difference. I used to agree with your assertion. I will explain why I no longer do. The goal of warfare is very simply to break the will of the opposing population to keep fighting. Taking out roadways and bridges and sewage treatment plants with smart bombs is another way to break the opponent's will. Not quite as demoral…

I agree with a lot of what you said (and thanks for laying that out in depth, it was an interesting read), but that still doesn't change the fact that the method the US uses to target drones strikes is completely different than the method terrorists use to target their strikes. It is possible to recognize the ethical problems of the drone program while also saying it is on a higher moral ground than the random killin…

Thanks!

> It is possible to recognize the ethical problems of the drone program while also saying it is on a higher moral ground than the random killing that terrorists employ.

Are those ethical parameters or economic parameters? If every regime that would possibly end up in conflict with the US is expected to develop the satellite technology, smart bomb tech, drone tech, etc., before engaging in battle, that's pretty much impossible for any non-first-world country.

So one must conclude either that any non-first-world country must instantly surrender out of an inability to fight at the same moral level as the US, or that the distinction is not actually a moral one.

In the US, we are told that is a highly important moral distinction... but this is simply because the public prefers to feel the satisfaction of operating from a moral high ground and so it's a great way to sell a population on the idea of sacrificing trillions of dollars (enough to pay for education, healthcare and a 3 day work week for all Americans for decades) so that our nation can do the morally righteous thing and kill (usually brown) people.

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#116

Post by supergreg »

Scirra_Tom wrote: post #21
lawl wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I believe even terrorists should be able to say whatever they want. I'd actually prefer them shitposting on twitter rather than killing people.

I disagree that everyone should have a platform to say anything. Allowing hatred and violence can normalise it. Also, if someone got on a soapbox outside your house and starting preaching violence I don't think you'd be celebrating the exercising of their rights - you'd probably call the police.

I might disapprove of what they say but will fight to death for their right to say it.

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#117

Post by astura »

Pxtl wrote: post #113
astura wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before he was killed Bin Laden communicated with his inner circle only by USB drives transported by sneakernet - his bunker lacked Internet connection but his communications were electronic. I think some of his communication was re-transmitted by his couriers over the Internet though but not through locations that were physically near where he was hiding.

Really, he didn't have internet? I remember his final video and it was so laden with modern political jargon I'm really surprised - I kind of figured he'd spent the decade in hiding surfing political forums.

His communication was two way, not just one way. It was just really slow and labor intensive.

I typed my last comment going from memory. I looked it up and my memory served me well, his bunker didn't have Internet. Looks like his USB drives weren't encrypted though, rookie mistake.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/how-bin-laden-emailed-without-b...

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#118

Post by grandalf »

skj wrote: post #76
grandalf wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The word "terrorism" is a PR word intended to marginalize whatever group it is applied to. As a tactic, terrorism describes the infliction of civilian casualties meant to create a disproportionate climate of fear. By this definition, drones used in warfare are a form of terrorism. In today's world we are not fighting wars in the traditional sense of defending ourselves against aggression. Since there is no obvious th…

> terrorism describes the infliction of civilian casualties meant to create a disproportionate climate of fear. By this definition, drones used in warfare are a form of terrorism. It's hard to read the rest of your post with that opener. You may believe that drones are used poorly, and you may believe they naturally result in higher civilian casualties, but there is absolutely nothing that implies that "by definition…

A drone makes a loud noise as it hovers invisibly above, piloted from afar. It contains sophisticated sensor systems to allow it to detect the heat of human bodies, and cameras and computer systems that can do face matches with long lists of people deemed OK to kill.

By your logic, drones are simply airplanes... simply a transportation device. That is obviously not a useful level of abstraction with which to view their use in war.

In our modern wars, drones are used as intimidation devices, with the sound of their propellers issuing a constant reminder that anyone may be the next to die.

They are thus much more akin to dropped leaflets containing propaganda meant to persuade an enemy population.

In the past, leaflets have been used to do intimidation by declaring the time in the future when a nearby building would be obliterated. The locals, after reading the leaflet and seeing the building obliterated, were meant to have greater respect for the powerful nation that dropped the leaflets and to become more obedient to it.

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#119

Post by grandalf »

matt4077 wrote: post #79
grandalf wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The word "terrorism" is a PR word intended to marginalize whatever group it is applied to. As a tactic, terrorism describes the infliction of civilian casualties meant to create a disproportionate climate of fear. By this definition, drones used in warfare are a form of terrorism. In today's world we are not fighting wars in the traditional sense of defending ourselves against aggression. Since there is no obvious th…

I thought I'd seen everything now that Republicans all started to love Putin. But this sort of alliance between the r/fatpeoplehate-crowd and ISIS is yet another mind-blowing milestone. Now I finally know how my dog feels when he looks at me with his head tilted to one side, his eyes betraying his lack of understanding.

If you disagree, argue against it or explain why it's not correct. You might help persuade people I'm right :)

Re: Twitter Suspends 300k Accounts Tied to Terrorism in 2017

#120

Post by gertef »

astura wrote: post #117
Pxtl wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really, he didn't have internet? I remember his final video and it was so laden with modern political jargon I'm really surprised - I kind of figured he'd spent the decade in hiding surfing political forums.

His communication was two way, not just one way. It was just really slow and labor intensive. I typed my last comment going from memory. I looked it up and my memory served me well, his bunker didn't have Internet. Looks like his USB drives weren't encrypted though, rookie mistake. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/how-bin-laden-emailed-without-b...

https://stallman.org/stallman-computing.html

""" I am careful in how I use the Internet.

I generally do not connect to web sites from my own machine, aside from a few sites I have some special relationship with. I usually fetch web pages from other sites by sending mail to a program (see git://git.gnu.org/womb/hacks.git) that fetches them, much like wget, and then mails them back to me. Then I look at them using a web browser, unless it is easy to see the text in the HTML page directly. I usually try lynx first, then a graphical browser if the page needs it (using konqueror, which won't fetch from other sites in such a situation).

I occasionally also browse unrelated sites using IceCat via Tor. Except for rare cases, I do not identify myself to them. I think that is enough to prevent my browsing from being connected with me. IceCat blocks tracking tags and most fingerprinting methods.

I never pay for anything on the Web. Anything on the net that requires payment, I don't do. (I made an exception for the fees for the stallman.org domain, since that is connected with me anyway.) I also avoid paying with credit cards. """

Post reply on HN