Twitter users to see drop in followers amid crackdown on 'problem' accounts

Locked accounts will be removed from follower numbers, as company targets spread of abuse and misinformation

Twitter users will see a drop in their follower counts this week as the company clamps down on "problematic" accounts including those that have been hijacked to spread abuse, misinformation and propaganda.

Starting on Wednesday, Twitter will remove all locked accounts from people's follower numbers. Most people will see a change of "four followers or fewer" but accounts with larger followings will experience a "more significant drop", the company said.