Twitter suspends accounts associated with alt-right, hate speech

Twitter headquarters in California.
(Image credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Twitter cracked down on alt-right accounts associated with hate speech Tuesday after facing years of criticism for standing by as some users violated the terms of service or actively harassed and trolled other users, USA Today reports.

"I am alive physically but digitally speaking there has been execution squads across the alt-right," one of the movement's leaders, Richard Spencer, said in a video after his account was suspended. Spencer also runs an alt-right think tank and online magazine that were also removed from Twitter, and had formerly possessed a verified personal account. "There is a great purge going on and they are purging people based on their views," he added, deeming the process "corporate Stalinism."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.