The company said that any previous tweets containing the offending language would need to be removed, but would not cause the suspension of a user’s account, because they were made before Twitter implemented and communicated the policy.
Around the world, religious minorities have been attacked in hate crimes that some organizations believe to be inspired (at least in part) by hate speech on social media. Whether it’s white supremacists responsible for the murders of Jewish congregants in Pittsburgh or Islamic worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand, or attacks by Islamic militants like ISIS, which left more than 100 people dead in attacks on Easter Sunday, social media has played a key role in disseminating hate speech and radicalizing untold numbers of users.
In the U.S. alone, the Anti-Defamation League found that 37% of Americans had experienced severe online hate and harassment in 2018. According to the recent survey, roughly 35% of Muslims and 16% of Jews experienced harassment online because of their religious affiliation. The ADL also reported that 28% of Twitter users had experienced harassment.
Twitter said it started with religious groups after receiving more than 8,000 responses from people located in more than 30 countries around the world.
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