Extremists organizing to purge tweeted 5,000 progressives with fake complaints

Right-wing extremists are working together to file false complaints to “cleanse” a reported list of 5,000 people off Twitter, including progressive journalists, Democrats, celebrities and researchers.

An early hint of the operation was revealed in Right Side News posts on right-wing social media platform Telegram last month. Organizers falsely claimed that the targeted Twitter profiles were “Antifa” (an acronym for anti-fascist activists) or “supporters of Antifa”.

Screenshot/Telegram/News from the right side

That Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, a defense group for “marginalized communities,” called the hit list an attempt to “disappoint the left.” The group posted on Twitter a list of 5,000 names they said were being targeted on Telegram.

Some of those listed include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Auschwitz Museum, singer Lil Nas X, investigative reporter Luke O’Brien, and at least one HuffPost reporter.

Although many celebrities are progressives, why some make the list, such as Britney Spears, is a mystery.

Among those kicked off Twitter shortly after Elon Musk took over were Chad Loder, an anti-fascist researcher who identified a Proud Boy member involved in the 2021 US Capitol riots, and journalist Vishal Pratap Singh , who has covered far-right protests in southern California.

Loder attributed his Twitter exile to an “organized mass reporting campaign” against left-wing Twitter users coordinated by a right-wing group called Zanting, Business Insider reported.

The group posted detailed instructions on how to falsely report people on Substack. It contains a long list of accounts with Loder’s Twitter profile address at the top.

Loder shared insider screenshots of messages on Telegram with thousands of followers, including Proud Boys and QAnon disciples, celebrating his suspension.

Journalists who had never been warned or fined for violating Twitter Rules were suddenly suspended or banned from Twitter on false charges, they told HuffPost.

author and Sportswriter Teri ThompsonFormer New York Daily News sports editor, told HuffPost she received an email from Twitter on Thursday informing her that her account was suspended for “violating Twitter’s rules against ‘platform manipulation and spam’.” became.

She was told she could not “artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience on Twitter.”

Not only is she completely perplexed by her “injury,” Thompson said, she is “confused about how this has reached Twitter blacklisting levels.” She has been on Twitter for 14 years without prior disciplinary action.

It’s also not clear if she was on a hit list or just annoyed someone who mobilized false ads against her.

Prior to Musk’s acquisition, senior members of Twitter’s trust and safety team were aware of the false reporting campaign against Loder — in violation of Twitter’s policies — and had plans to address it, Loder said. But key members of the team have now resigned or been fired.

“The store doesn’t bother anyone anymore,” said Loder. Twitter’s Trust and Safety team is now “perhaps 5% of the original workforce, so what’s happening is that bulk reports are allowed to succeed because nobody is double checking whether those reports are valid or not.”

The crackdowns over false complaints are ironic given new Twitter owner Musk’s vow to protect “free speech” on the platform.

Meanwhile, he has restored the accounts of former President Donald Trump and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Trump was “permanently” suspended for glorifying violence before, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Yes’s anti-Semitic messages were blocked. Still, Ye told Alex Jones on his podcast on Thursday: “i like hitler,” and “I… love Nazis.”

According to Loder, Musk’s so-called free speech campaign is actually about bringing back “violent neo-Nazi accounts.” He has “teamed up with right-wing extremists and they have his ear,” added Loder.