Twitter locks users' accounts when it finds them appear to be compromised or in violation of the Twitter Rules or Terms of Service.
In an update, the social media said that it would be removing those locked accounts from users’ follower counts. What this means, users will see some drop in follower counts, if they have followers who have their accounts locked by Twitter.
The report started when Twitter said it suspended a multitude of of fake accounts in an attempt to curb the rise of bots and other issues. The number of accounts targeted is reportedly around 70 million users.
Twitter‘s Trust & Safety Lead Vijaya Gadde said that follower count is one of the first things a user looks at when visiting a profile, and that's why it matters for Twitter to put more "confidence in follower counts.":
On Twitter, follower count has been a controversial way to measure credibility.
Not just because people want to be seen, but a huge amount of follower indeed increases pride. Because of this reason, many Twitter users use bots or traffic exchange services. There has also been markets where people sell phony and stolen identities to boost users follower count.
These practices have been around for years.
One of the results, is an increase in fake news and hoaxes that plague the platform. After all, lies spread faster than the truth, especially viral ones.
The company has been going through some house-cleaning process. And making locked accounts not anymore included in follower counts, is showing how serious Twitter is in addressing years of toxic environment and criticisms for failing in removing rampant spam and abuse on its platform.
To make things clearer, those locked accounts aren’t necessarily bots. They may have been created by an actual person at one point.
If those accounts begin to show spammy behavior, Twitter will lock them without prior warning. This way, those accounts can no longer interact with the rest of Twitter. Until this time, Twitter would count those locked accounts as user’s followers.
Gadde added that the company doesn't expect this update to give much affect to average Twitter user. But for larger accounts managed by companies, brands, celebrities or other public figures, they may be affected more severely.
"Most people will see a change of four followers or fewer; others with larger follower counts will experience a more significant drop," he said.
“We understand this may be hard for some, but we believe accuracy and transparency make Twitter a more trusted service for public conversation."
Previously, Twitter requires new users to confirm their email or phone for it to combat bots as well as abuse.