UPDATE [August 8, 2019]: Your Twitter account may have been suspended by accident
Since yesterday, August 6, 2019, in a manner akin to the probability random sampling of Marvel’s Thanos, Twitter has been suspending quite a number of accounts on its platform.
https://twitter.com/2Jordank/status/1157441692758355968
Twitter, of course, is well known for strategic suspensions and strict rules. The nature and reason for these suspensions is not very clear.
My babe’s account was suspended, he is the most unproblematic person on this street. Just tweets his thoughts and shares insightful links. @Twitter please why??
— Oluremi Martins (@oluremi_x) August 6, 2019
However, responding to Techpoint's enquiry, a Twitter spokesperson said: “We regularly review tweets and accounts against the Twitter Rules and take action if we find violations. If an account has questions about their suspension they can reach out to us and appeal."
Just before the 2019 general elections in February, in a similar manner, a number of Nigerian ‘influencers’ faced the brunt of Twitter’s discipline. A Business Insider report revealed that Twitter carried out the suspensions as a part of its election integrity efforts.
Suggested Read: Twitter apparently suspended some Nigerian “influencers” in preparation for Nigeria’s general elections
This time around, analysis of suspended accounts do not seem to follow any regular pattern, nor does it seem to be a ‘respecter of persons’. Users with thousands of followers, a few hundred, tens, and units have all been affected.
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Funny thing if it were only “twitter influencers” that got suspended only as usual there would have been subs upandan on the TL o but this time around Jack sprinkled some business, slay queens and random accounts on this episode.
— Ibe (@maziibe_) August 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/thenewkashope/status/1159001101812867072
Also, it doesn't appear to be tied down to any particular country or region as complaints have come from different countries besides Nigeria.
Just came to know that handle @blackholesm has been suspended by @Twitter , certainly @TwitterIndia
Check your own worth that you can't confront a twitter account
What else for are you capable of?
Restore it.
— سرکار (@Arehman110) August 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/Halal_Kaffir/status/1158966232743202816
In line with these developments, several users are noticing a reduction in the number of followers they have. As of yesterday, Techpoint observed a slight reduction in the number of followers on its Twitter page.
https://twitter.com/Gamer_Seto/status/1158997542547468288
https://twitter.com/Pepeology/status/1158725804416753665
Naturally, this event has led to several speculations by several users who are understandably shocked.
Suspended Twitter users, what are you doing wrong?
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔑𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤 ♚ (@TheDodoLover) August 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/btsworIdwide/status/1158969392442462208
https://twitter.com/FOR_KIMHYUNA/status/1158894948311273472
Some have even gone as far as calling for a petition.
What the fuck @Twitter, you why the fuck did TJ got all 3 of his accounts suspended#FREETJ
— Sakumi (@ItsSakumi) August 7, 2019
And of course, those providing their own brand of solutions.
https://twitter.com/Null2003/status/1158693330231922688
https://twitter.com/Maximo_LEI/status/1159013300132294662
The narrative might begin to take on a different shape on closer review. In the meantime, we enjoin our readers to maintain decorum and continue using social media responsibly.
If your account has been suspended and for the sake of prevention, kindly glance over Twitter’s rulebook.
