X purges 13,000 accounts linked to suspected meddling ahead of US midterms
Platform points to Iran, Russia, and China but provides no public evidence for attribution
X, the social media platform, has removed over 13,000 accounts associated with suspected foreign interference operations aimed at influencing the US political discourse, according to a recent announcement. The platform identified Iran, Russia, and China as the entities behind these operations, which utilized inauthentic accounts to disseminate and amplify political content targeting candidates and public figures. The move comes as the US midterm elections draw near on November 3.
The announcement highlights X's commitment to maintaining an authentic, open, and safe environment for public debate, emphasizing that the platform serves as the global "town square" for such discussions. However, X did not disclose the specific evidence supporting its attribution claims. Meanwhile, the company reaffirmed its Civic Integrity policy, which addresses misleading information surrounding voting procedures, timing, and location, as well as content designed to deter voter participation.
Reports submitted through this policy are used to generate Community Notes, a crowdsourced feature that X utilizes in conjunction with platform moderation. In certain critical instances, X may label policy violations based on the contributions made through Community Notes.
The effectiveness of Community Notes has been called into question, as the European Commission initiated formal proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act in 2023, questioning the feature's ability to validate a post's accuracy. X's decision to rely on crowdsourced context has been influenced by recent layoffs and senior departures from its moderation teams following the acquisition of the platform by Elon Musk.
The issue of foreign influence campaigns extends beyond US elections, with the head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, recently revealing that Russia had attempted to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum. However, he cautioned against interpreting this as evidence that the outcome would have been altered.
Written by urgent.news from The Register's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
