Twitter suspended more than 10,000 accounts linked to Islamic State militants and their supporters in a single 24-hour period in a fresh crackdown on those 'tweeting violent threats ' . Jihad-watchers noticed thousands of accounts vanishing from the social network last week , most of them claiming to be linked to the extremists currently terrorising vast swathes of the Middle East . Now , after questions were asked about what led to the largest ever one-off cull of ISIS-affiliated accounts , Twitter has confirmed that its purge was prompted because they were being used by tech-savvy jihadis to issue threats of violence . Online savvy : Jihad-watchers noticed thousands of accounts vanishing from the social network last week , most of them claiming to be linked to the extremists currently terrorising vast swathes of the Middle East . Twitter does not publish data related to the accounts it suspends , but NDTV Gadgets reported that the social network 's so-called 'violations department ' suspended approximately 10,000 accounts used by ISIS militants or supporters of the terror group on April 2 . Speaking on condition of anonymity amid fears for his safety , the representative said the cull was prompted in part by the 'large number of reports ' received by online activists and members of the public . Without doubt this is a reference to the 'Operation Anti-ISIS ' campaign launched by the online 'hacktavist ' collective Anonymous , who encouraged members to find and expose thousands of accounts connected with ISIS and report them to Twitter authorities en masse . While the social network says it remains committed to the platform being used as a symbol of free speech , it says it will not tolerate accounts tweeting sickening messages promoting violence . ISIS - the largest and wealthiest terrorist organisation in history - has long used social media to groom and enlist new recruits , spread sickening propaganda , and glorify rape and massacre . Sick : Twitter 's so-called 'violations department ' suspended approximately 10,000 accounts used by the ISIS militants themselves ( pictured ) or by supporters of the terror group , on April 2 . Last month it was revealed that web-savvy militants fighting for ISIS could control as many as 90,000 Twitter accounts worldwide , allowing them to spread their sickening propaganda with ease . The terror group is able to 'exert an outsized impact on how the world perceives it ' because of its shrewd use of social media and sheer number of online followers , terror experts have concluded . Recommendations in the report by the Washington-based Brookings Institute report include governments and social media companies working together to find new ways to tackle the problem of pro-ISIS accounts spreading horrific murder videos and images and jihadist rhetoric . While Twitter has had success in suspending the accounts , they are effectively playing an exasperating game of whack-a-mole as banned users almost-immediately set up another account . They then encourage ISIS sympathisers who have not yet been banned to share the details of their new profile and within a matter of hours can have thousands of people once again reading their messages of hate .
Thousands of accounts leaked from the social network last week . Twitter said it had received numerous reports about terror - promoting users . Decided to list online accounts for making threats of violence . these were almost certainly linked to a campaign by ' anonymous ' collective Anonymous targeting online users .