Twitter, Facebook move quickly to stem celebrations of Nice attack

French flags flutter at half-mast to honor the people killed in a deadly attack, on the famed Promenade des Anglais in Nice, southern France. (Photo: AP)

Twitter Inc moved swiftly to remove posts from Islamic extremists glorifying a truck attack in Nice, France, watchdog groups said on Friday, in a rare round of praise for a platform that has often struggled to contain violent propaganda.

A spate of violence over the past several months has posed numerous challenges to social media companies. Friday's unsuccessful military coup in Turkey was marked first by restrictions on social media, internet monitoring groups said, but the crackdown appeared to ease as the events unfolded and numerous citizens broadcast live video on Facebook and sent tweets.