Apr 5, 2018

Twitter axed 1.2 million accounts since 2015 for promoting terrorism

Twitter, like many online platforms, is grappling with the spread of extremist content. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Twitter said Thursday it had permanently suspended roughly 1.2 million accounts for "violations related to the promotion of terrorism" between August 2015 and December 2017. More than 270,000 were suspended in the second half of last year.

Why it matters: Terrorist content is just one of the many ills facing online platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

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Axios

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Trump approval rating: 45.6 — highest since first month in office
S&P 500: 3,370.29 (👇 9.87 — 0.29%)
1 2020 thing: ✅ Bloomberg surges in polls, qualifies for this week's debate
1 entertainment thing: 🎤 Kenan Thompson and Hasan Minhaj will headline WHCD
1 world thing: 🇨🇳 State Dept. designates 5 Chinese state media outlets as "foreign missions"
1 sports thing: 🏎 Ryan Newman awake and speaking with family following brutal crash

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Keep ReadingUpdated 15 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Alayna Treene, Jonathan Swan

Energy deputy secretary nominee in hot water after contradicting Trump

Mark Menezes speaks at a forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June 12. Photo: Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Trump administration officials are internally raising concerns about President Trump’s nominee for Energy deputy secretary, who appeared to openly contradict the president on nuclear waste storage at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain last week.

Driving the news: While speaking at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing last Wednesday, Mark Menezes told members of the panel that the Trump administration is still interested in storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and that “what we're trying to do is to put together a process that will give us a path to permanent storage at Yucca."

Go deeper52 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

Exclusive: Pompeo says new China media restrictions "long overdue"

Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The State Department announced Tuesday that it has designated five Chinese state media outlets as "foreign missions," meaning that they will be treated as arms of the Chinese government.

Driving the news: In his first public statement on the new designation, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells Axios that the five outlets are "clearly controlled by the [Chinese Communist Party], and we are simply recognizing that fact by taking this action.”

Go deeper2 hours ago - World