‘Egg operation’ closes Twitter accounts around the world

ISTANBUL

Microblogging Twitter has begun closing down fake and passive accounts due to increasing complaints from active users, daily Hürriyet has reported, noting that users who only periodically use their account could soon see their handles shut down.
 
Twitter came to recent prominence with the Gezi Park protests, as demonstrators organized via the social media site and broadcast news that many mainstream outlets had neglected to carry.
 
Twitter authorities have started to delete accounts which are fake and continue to use the default “egg” symbol as their profile photo in both Turkey and abroad.
 
The fake Twitter accounts are suspended by an algorithm that is determined by IP addresses. “Copy-paste” sharing is defined as spam – another action that can result in the closure of an account. The site has said spam cases are mostly seen between personal accounts with opposing views.
 
Meanwhile, the causes of suspended accounts are written on the address, support.twitter.com which is open to the public. Identity falsification, copyright infringement, illegal acts and harmful speeches are the most common reasons leading to the suspension of an account, said Twitter, adding that it was also risky for users to tweet excessively in a short time or follow more than 2,000 people.
 
Many worldwide Twitter phenomena have received a severe blow from the “egg operation,” especially American singer and actor Miley Cyrus. After Cyrus instantly lost 100,000 followers, her fans launched a campaign for the singer to again reach her total of 13 million followers. Another phenomenon, Erol Köse, who is one of the most active users in Turkey, has also encountered a drop in followers below 1 million.
 
The process to reopen a suspended account typically takes a long time, as users must fill in a form with their complaints in English and wait for officials to examine the circumstances behind the closure of the account.