This evening , many supporters and detractors of #GamerGate have seen their accounts shut down by Twitter. These accounts, usually with few followers, appear to have been mass spam-reported. Even accounts with numerous followers have been targeted, though not taken down.

This appears to be the work of a 3rd party as both Anti and Pro accounts have been reported. GamerGhazi, a sub-reddit dedicated to Anti-#GamerGate, has had users state that their accounts have been taken down for spam. #GamerGate supporters on Twitter have also stated the same.

Well this just happened. I made no violation of the twitter TOS. #GamerGate pic.twitter.com/7VDJJzi4uM

— Mark 🐸 🗑 Samenfink (@MSamenfink) October 31, 2014

Many #GamerGate supporters came to Twitter because of #GamerGate. This would make them an easy target for mass spam reporting. Twitter uses an automated system that automatically suspends any account that has too enough spam reports attached to it. This, coincidentally, is the same tactic used by the #GamerGate Harassment Patrol, a subgroup within #GamerGate dedicated to preventing death threats and harassment on both sides.

Twitter has an obscenely slow system for dealing with harassment but takes down accounts when enough reports of spam are made. This also could be a server error on Twitter’s part. If it is, it is a major error that has taken down what is rumored to be 100+ accounts. Twitter moderators/staff have been contacted for a comment on this issue.

Image Source: Tyler Valle