Twitter is sweeping out fake accounts like never before, putting user growth at risk

Twitter’s growing campaign against bots and trolls  is part of the ongoing fallout from Russia’s disinformation offensive during the 2016 presidential campaign. (Matt Rourke/AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter has sharply escalated its battle against fake and suspicious accounts, suspending more than 1 million a day in recent months, a major shift to lessen the flow of disinformation on the platform, according to data obtained by The Washington Post.

The rate of account suspensions, which Twitter confirmed to The Post, has more than doubled since October, when the company revealed under congressional pressure how Russia used fake accounts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Twitter suspended more than 70 million accounts in May and June, and the pace has continued in July, according to the data.