Twitter Investigating ISIS-Related Threats Against Employees

2 minute read
Twitter
File photo dated September 11, 2013 shows the logo of the social networking website 'Twitter' displayed on a computer screen in London.Leon Neal—AFP/Getty Images
By Sam Frizell

Twitter is investigating threats made against its employees by people claiming ties to the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).

A message appeared online Sunday calling on ISIS supporters to kill Twitter employees, apparently in response to the company’s efforts to block ISIS-related accounts.

“You started this failed war,” reads one post in Arabic. “We told you from the beginning it’s not your war, but you didn’t get it and kept closing our accounts on Twitter, but we will soon come back.”

One message singled out Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in particular, showing an image of crosshairs overlaid on Dorsey’s face. Dorsey is now CEO of mobile payments company Square.

“Our security team is investigating the veracity of these threats with relevant law enforcement officials,” said Twitter spokesman Jim Prosser.

ISIS has often used Twitter and other social media to broadcast its message, publish video of violent acts and recruit new followers. The group has shown a penchant for “gaming” Twitter by using automated accounts to make its online supporter base seem larger than it likely actually is.

Meanwhile, Twitter regularly deletes posts and suspends accounts showing executions or violent actions. The company’s terms of service ban posting “direct, specific threats of violence against others.”

Peek Inside Kobani After Kurds Claim Victory Over ISIS

A Kurdish man stands in a destroyed building in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurdish man stands in a destroyed building in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
Street scene in Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
Street scene in Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurdish fighter speaks on the phone as one of his comrades walks past in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurdish fighter speaks on the phone as one of his comrades walks past in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurdish fighter walks through the wreckage of a building in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.
A Kurdish fighter walks through the wreckage of a building in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurdish fighter walks with his child in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani, Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurdish fighter walks with his child in the center of the Syrian border town of Kobani, Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A shell is used as a vase in the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
A shell is used as a vase in the Syrian border town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
An injured kurdish fighter sits near the site where a mortar shell landed in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
An injured Kurdish fighter sits near the site where a projectile landed in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
Kurdish fighters walk along a street in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015.
Kurdish fighters walk along a street in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A fighter drives a car with heavy gun machine in the center of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.
A Kurdish fighter drives a truck with a heavy gun machine in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28. 2015.Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images
A Kurd stands in a building as pigeons fly over in the center of Kobani, on Jan. 28, 2015.
A Kurd stands in a building as pigeons fly over in the center of the Syrian town of Kobani on Jan. 28, 2015. Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com