Glorification of violence policy

Overview

March 2019

You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence.

Glorifying violent acts could inspire others to take part in similar acts of violence. Additionally, glorifying violent events where people were targeted on the basis of their protected characteristics (including: race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease) could incite or lead to further violence motivated by hatred and intolerance. For these reasons, we have a policy against content that glorifies acts of violence in a way that may inspire others to replicate those violent acts and cause real offline harm, or events where members of a protected group were the primary targets or victims.

What is in violation of this policy? 

Under this policy, you can’t glorify, celebrate, praise or condone violent crimes, violent events where people were targeted because of their membership in a protected group, or the perpetrators of such acts. We define glorification to include praising, celebrating, or condoning statements, such as “I’m glad this happened”, “This person is my hero”, “I wish more people did things like this”, or “I hope this inspires others to act”. 

Violations of this policy include, but are not limited to, glorifying, praising, condoning, or celebrating:

• violent acts committed by civilians that resulted in death or serious physical injury, e.g., murders, mass shootings;
• attacks carried out by terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups (as defined by our terrorism and violent extremism policy); and
• violent events that targeted protected groups, e.g., the Holocaust, Rwandan genocide. 

What is not a violation of this policy?

Our focus is on preventing the glorification of violence that could inspire others to replicate violent acts, as well as violent events where protected groups were the primary targets or victims. Exceptions may be made for violent acts by state actors, where violence was not primarily targeting protected groups. 

Who can report violations of this policy?

Anyone can report potential violations of this policy, whether they have a Twitter account or not. 

How can I report violations of this policy?

In-app

You can report this content for review in-app as follows:

1. Select Report Tweet from the  icon. 
2. Select It’s abusive or harmful.
3. Select Threatening violence or physical harm.
4. Select the relevant option depending on who you are reporting on behalf of.
5. Select up to 5 Tweets to report for review.
6. Submit your report.

Desktop

You can report this content for review via desktop as follows:

1. Select Report Tweet from the  icon. 
2. Select It’s abusive or harmful.
3. Select Threatening violence or physical harm.
4. Select the relevant option depending on who you are reporting on behalf of.
5. Select up to 5 Tweets to report for review.
6. Submit your report.

Report form

You can also report this content for review via our abusive behavior reporting form, by selecting the Harassment option.

What happens if you violate this policy?

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

The first time you violate this policy, we will require you to remove this content. We will also temporarily lock you out of your account before you can Tweet again. If you continue to violate this policy after receiving a warning, your account will be permanently suspended. If you believe that your account was suspended in error, you can submit an appeal.

Additional resources

Learn more about our range of enforcement options and our approach to policy development and enforcement.

To learn about the link between glorifying violent acts and offline harm, you can refer to the research of Susan Benesch: Countering Dangerous Speech: New Ideas for Genocide Prevention and the Dangerous Speech Project.