Violent threats and glorification of violence

Twitter Rules: You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people.

Rationale 

We want Twitter to be a place where people feel safe to freely express themselves. Thus, we will not tolerate behavior that encourages or incites violence against a specific person or group of people. We also take action against content that glorifies acts of violence in a manner that may inspire others to replicate those violent acts and cause real offline danger, or where people were targeted because of their potential membership in a protected category.

When this applies 

Tweets that violate this policy contain violent threats or glorify violence.

Violent threats

We consider violent threats to be explicit statements of one’s intent to kill or inflict serious physical harm against another person. This includes, but is not limited to, threatening to murder someone, sexually assault someone, break someone’s bones, and/or commit any other violent act that may result in someone’s death or serious injury.

Please note that wishing or hoping that someone experiences serious physical harm, making vague threats, or threatening less serious forms of physical harm would not fall under this specific policy. Instead, we may review and take action against that content under our abusive behavior and hateful conduct policies.

Do I need to be the target of this violent threat for it to be a violation of the Twitter Rules?
No, we review both first-person and bystander reports for violent threats. However, for Tweets that wish for physical harm or threaten less serious physical harm, we must hear directly from the target. This helps ensure that we have the appropriate context necessary to take enforcement action. Learn more about our enforcement philosophy.

Glorifying violence

We consider glorification of violence to be behavior that condones or celebrates violence (and/or its perpetrators) in a manner that may promote imitation of the act. We also prohibit the glorification of violence where protected categories have been the primary target or victim.

Some examples of this include, but are not limited to, the glorification of:

• mass murders
• terrorist attacks
• rapes and sexual assault

Some examples of behavior that would not fall under this policy include:

• acts of war
• military attacks
• state-sanctioned executions
• natural disasters

However, we will take enforcement action if any of the above glorifies violence where protected categories have been the primary targets or victims.

Do I need to be the target of this content for it to be a violation of the Twitter Rules?
No, we review both first-person and bystander reports of such content.

Consequences

Violent threats

Due to the serious potential for offline harm, we have a zero tolerance policy towards violent threats. Accounts found to be posting violent threats will be permanently suspended.  

Glorifying violence

The consequences for violating our glorification of violence policy depend on the severity of the violation and the account’s previous record of violations.

The first time an account violates this policy they will be required to delete the violating tweet and be temporarily placed in read-only mode. Subsequent violations could lead to longer periods of read-only mode, and eventually result in permanent suspension. Learn more about our range of enforcement options.

If someone believes their account was suspended in error, they can submit an appeal.