--- description: Twitter appears to have suspended several accounts of controversial figures associated with the alt-right movement. title: Twitter Suspends Alt-Right Accounts in 'Great Purge': Leader image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Twitter Makes 'Great Purge' of Alt-Right Accounts  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2016 1:15 PM CUT  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2016 1:15 PM CUT Twitter appears to have [suspended several accounts](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/11/15/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/93943194/ "undefined") of controversial figures associated with the [alt-right](http://time.com/4569895/donald-trump-stephen-bannon-alt-right/ "undefined"), a rising movement made up mainly of anti-Semites and proponents of white nationalism. The social media company on Tuesday removed the accounts of prominent alt-right leader Richard Spencer, his think tank and online magazine, as well as other movement members like Paul Town, Pax Dickinson, Ricky Vaughn and John Rivers, according to _USA Today._ Earlier that day, the social media platform introduced [measures](https://twitter.com/safety/status/798571375065632768 "undefined") that allow users to mute certain words in their notifications in an effort to curb abuse and hate speech. Spencer called the mass suspensions “corporate Stalinism” in a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiADHzBOqZ0 "undefined"). “I am alive physically but, digitally speaking, there has been execution squads across the alt right,” he said. “There is a great purge going on, and they are purging people on the basis of their views.” Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. The social media giant has previously said it does not comment on individual accounts, citing privacy and security reasons. \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/11/15/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts/93943194/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4572868/twitter-alt-right-suspends/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4572868/twitter-alt-right-suspends/"},"headline":"Twitter Makes 'Great Purge' of Alt-Right Accounts","datePublished":"2016-11-16T13:15:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:44.615Z","description":"\"They are purging people on the basis of their views\"","url":"https://time.com/4572868/twitter-alt-right-suspends/","keywords":["Tech","Social Media"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4572868/twitter-alt-right-suspends/","name":"Twitter Makes 'Great Purge' of Alt-Right Accounts"}}]}] ```