YOU’RE IN TROUBLE NOW: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT ON TWITTER

Note: This is a first draft of the eighth chapter of my new book, Twitter for Brands. The book comes out this fall and includes tailored advice for podcasters, bloggers, businesses, streamers, and more! I am open to critiques, so don’t be afraid to comment.

 

Life isn’t fair, and neither is Twitter.

 

Users can think they’re behaving, but malicious reporting by trolls is rampant, unrestrained by Twitter. False reports are not punished.

 

Most false reporting happens on political twitter, to and from both the right and the left. Stan Twitter, the part of Twitter devoted to superfans of entertainers, has problems with false reporting as well.

 

“I’m not going to get caught up in all that. I’m just here to promote my brand and I’m not going to make waves,” you think.

 

However, picking up trolls can happen. Someone may report you when you follow them. If you reply to a tweet with a link, you may be reported for spam. (Even if your link is relevant!) If you tweet using the word “you” and anything that could possibly be a slur or an insult, a troll can report you. If you tweet anything containing words that are violent, you can be reported (a friend was reported for “ugh, kill me now,” I was reported for “shoot your shot.” Neither colloquialism could possibly be construed as promoting violence or self-harm).

 

Frankly, unless Twitter does something to address troll reports, there isn’t anything that can be done. While writing this book, I tested several ways of running afoul of their “rules” and was reported many times on my political account—and only a couple of times on other accounts. The benefits of participating in political Twitter were discussed in the last chapter. Brands may decide to opt out of navigating this minefield entirely.

 

Aside from troll reports, users can get into trouble by performing actions that look like spam to the system. Following users too quickly will get your account shadow banned for 24 hours. During this time, your tweets will not appear in searches, you will not appear on their lists of new followers (you will appear on third-party apps such as Unfollower Stats), and if you comment on a thread (including your own), your response will go unseen.

 

Any action that can be performed on Twitter can be performed too quickly for their algorithm’s taste. So if you’re going down the replies to your thread, tap the like button slowly. Retweet slowly. For most people, this is not an issue. If you take the time to read every word before performing any actions related to the tweet, that is likely sufficient.

 

Twitter allows unverified users to follow up to 400 accounts each day. Verified users are allowed to follow 1000. Note that Twitter has currently closed the verification process. However, rhythmically adding accounts (like tap-tap-tapping down a list) appears automated, and Twitter assumes you are a spammer if you follow accounts too quickly. Same with unfollowing. Therefore, I advise that those following/unfollowing large numbers of accounts do so while actually checking out the accounts they follow. Let at least 30 seconds elapse between follows.

 

Some accounts use popular but unrelated hashtags to promote their business. This is against Twitter rules and repeatedly doing so will result in suspension. In the Twitter Calendar section, annual holidays and associated hashtags are listed. Many of these trend, so your brand can use these tags as a content planner and post relevant tweets.

 

Accounts can also run afoul of Twitter rules by spamming replies. Unless you are asked or are participating in a roll call, keep all links off of others’ tweets. A better way to harness replies is to say positive things on related tweets. A local restaurant I follow leaves pleasantries on tweets related to the area. “Good luck at finals! We’re all rooting for the team,” or “I hope you enjoy our city. Don’t forget to check out the art museum!” By making this small gesture, the restaurant will probably earn a profile click, which may lead to a new customer.

 

Accounts can also get into trouble by using media they do not own. Punishments for first offenses can range from having the media deleted to one-week suspensions.

 

Twitter also has a strict policy against impersonation. Do not use names, likenesses, or other copyrighted material without clarifying that you are not the rights holder or their representative. This is the reason why the so many profiles contain “parody,” “fan account,” or “not really them.”

 

Impersonation extends to noncelebrities as well. Users who employ sock puppet accounts to spread the word of their products may find every account associated with their device suspended. Sock puppet accounts are accounts with names and photographs of unsuspecting people.

 

Creating multiple accounts for similar reasons also against Twitter rules. If you create additional accounts, I recommend sharing tweets from one account instead of creating multiple tweets for each account. I also recommend having a clear purpose for each account. For example, you can have a business page and a personal page for you, the business owner.

 

Buying, selling, or trading accounts or interactions is strictly against Twitter rules.

 

Twitter also punishes those who publish personal information (doxxing) and revenge porn.

 

Because the bio, header, and avatar are seen by all accounts, including those who have the sensitive media filter turned on, Twitter has a strict policy that no adult or violent content may be displayed on them. Users may place a link to this material in their bio, or cover genitalia and nipples in their avatar and header. But while tweeting this material may be acceptable, including it where all Twitter users can see it is not.

 

Tweets depicting violence and gore may be against the rules. This includes sharing images that may be posted elsewhere, such as raw footage of crimes being performed.

 

Accounts may not be affiliated with groups that use or promote violence against civilians as a means of achieving their ends.

 

Finally, any videos posted by contain ads by permission of Twitter only. A brand can tweet their own ad, but they may not sell space on their video to other companies.

 

Twitter can change their rules at any time, so check out the Rules and Policies page in the Twitter Help Center.

 

LEVELS OF PUNISHMENT

 

There are several consequences to breaking Twitter rules. The first consequence, frequently meted out to those who follow accounts quickly or rhythmically, is the shadow ban. This ban usually lasts for 24 hours. During this time, users can continue to follow people, tweet, and reply to tweets. However, their replies (even to their own tweets) are hidden, and while their tweets continue to appear on their followers’ timelines, they are excluded from all search results.

 

Other reasons that the shadow ban may activate include tweeting identical replies and images, automating very similar tweets, tweeting very rapidly, and frequently tweeting or replying to people who do not follow you. Brands are often tripped up by engaging with non-followers. Promoting your music on tweets by similar artists seems like a good idea, but do it often enough and you will find yourself shadow banned.

 

The consequence for overusing hashtags is a search ban. While an account is search banned, their tweets can only be seen during searches by users who have unchecked the quality filter. It is my experience that leaving the quality filter checked doesn’t filter out very much spam, while it blocks out legitimate users, especially in hashtag games. This is why many users who participate in hashtag games use so-called ghost accounts for the periods that they are under a search ban.

 

Readers might notice that I have not defined the overuse of hashtags. This is because I have been unable to pin down the precise metric. It appears that the closer together your tweets using the hashtag are, the more likely you are to trigger the search ban. I tweeted similar ads 3 times an hour for a couple of days before my search ban. This ban lasted exactly 16 weeks.

 

Twitter does list reasons why the search ban is more likely to be triggered:

 

• Repeatedly posting near-identical tweets. What triggered my search ban, I think, was tweeting products using very similar formats and linking to the same domain. I recommend breaking things up and using different formats, with and without hashtags and links.
• Abusing trending topics and hashtags. These people are eventually caught, either through the algorithm or by being reported. Businesses can tweet tie-ins to trending tags, and this rule refers to tweets that look like this:

• Frequently use of automation (bots) and tweeting via apps, including TweetDeck. Make sure you tweet via the website or official app sometimes.
• Posting similar messages across multiple accounts.

 

While no official acknowledgement of any shadow ban is given, users can use the tool at shadowban.eu to see if they are under these bans. A total shadow ban usually lasts for 24 hours, and search bans last for 16 weeks.

 

SUSPENSIONS

 

When an account is reported for abusive behavior, it is suspended. Accounts that you follow or send direct messages to can report you for spam, or any account can report your violent, profane, or confrontational tweets.

 

Accounts can run afoul of this rule. Using language like “you,” “shoot,” “die,” or profanities or insults like “bimbo” or “moron” can result in a suspension. Note that Twitter must receive a report for your account to face consequences. Once the report is received, Twitter’s software decides whether there is merit to the case. Some reports are also manually reviewed.

 

The least serious type of suspension is what is commonly called locking. Unlocking your account is as easy as typing in the verification code Twitter sends you. However, it takes a couple of hours for your following to return to normal. You may show up in third-party unfollower tracking apps as having unfollowed someone. Expect to lose followers each time it happens—hundreds of followers if you are a large account.

 

Twitter also suspends accounts for up to one week. The clock on this suspension begins when the user logs in for the first time after the suspension is handed down. Suspended users cannot tweet, reply, like, or follow. They can change personal their information and respond to direct messages. These users will also show up as having unfollowed other accounts. Once their suspension is over, their account will return to normal.

 

There is a widespread belief that repeatedly tagging a person ends their punishment early. This is false. No matter how many accounts tag a shadow banned or suspended user, they remain in Twitmo (the colloquial name for Twitter punishment) until their time is served.

 

Finally, Twitter can permanently suspend accounts. This happens most frequently to users who are being trolled, or who are themselves trolls. Should this happen to your account, visit help.twitter.com/forms/general. This ticket can also be found at Help Center>Submit a Ticket>Account Access.

 

Twitter does not seem to have enough staff to deal with all of these submitted tickets. If your account is suspended, I recommend attempting to contact Twitter support through the link on the Help Center page (https://help.twitter.com/en/contact-us). It is my experience that users are ignored there as well, but I have heard anecdotal reports of users being unsuspended in this manner.

 

STARTING OVER

 

Creating a new Twitter account after a suspension is against Twitter rules. The site calls it “evading permanent suspension.” I am not affiliated with Twitter in any way and they do not condone any of the advice given, especially the following:

 

When Twitter suspends a user, the user is given a form to appeal their suspension. Very rarely do these suspensions get overturned, even when they were the result of trolling. A user should use a VPN (or access a different IP address) to create a new one instead of waiting for Twitter to get to their request.

 

The new account should differ from the first in other ways, from the birthdate to the phone number to the display name. Don’t make the @ too similar. This can be incredibly difficult for a brand, so preventing suspensions by behaving yourself and reporting trolls is important.

 

Changing account details will likely keep Twitter from finding and suspending you again. Note that if you are being trolled heavily, these tips may be less useful.

 

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION

 

I’m not trying to frighten any potential users away. Most users are never locked, suspended, shadow banned, or anything else. Unless you behave in a spammy or trollish way, you are probably going to do well.

 

Twitter best practices to avoid landing in Twitter Jail:

• Use common sense. Don’t fight with people on your brand page. Don’t call anyone names. Don’t tweet revenge porn. Just behave like a decent human being.
• Don’t do anything too quickly. Tapping follow, like, or retweet too quickly can appear automated.
• Don’t reply constantly to those who do not follow you. Make sure you are replying to your followers at least a quarter of the time.
• Vary your tweets and replies. Don’t post your link constantly. Vary the content of your tweets—include images with some, leave the hashtags out of others, and don’t always rely on apps like TweetDeck and Buffer.
• Keep your account “healthy.” If you do awaken a troll or misbehave, Twitter looks at your overall behavior before deciding wat punishment to mete out. Age of account, number of positive interactions with other users, and overall lack of policing by Twitter will make it more likely that you will be asked to remove the offending post and go on with your Twitter life.
• Finally, try to drive traffic away from Twitter and onto your website. The benefit of social media is that it allows brands to connect with people they never would have brought to their business any other way; the drawback is that businesses are on their turf and must abide by their regulations.

 

TAKE THIS AWAY

 

Twitter rules are many, and subject to change without notice. Brands can run afoul of them, so make sure you familiarize yourself with the most recent changes to the rules.

 

Many of Twitter’s rules are common sense. However, if an account has been reported, the user should take precautions in the language they use.

 

Twitter has punished accounts that use automation or similar language tweets with a search ban, so users should use these tools only some of the time, manually tweeting using the Twitter app or website the rest of the time.

 

Twitter has many enforcement actions, ranging from shadow bans to permanent suspensions. Users are unlikely to win an appeal against a permanent suspension.

 

Instead of keeping followers on Twitter, try to draw them to your site. This is the only way that you can ensure that followers do not lose track of your brand if you are shadow banned or suspended by Twitter.