UPDATED 00:24 EDT / SEPTEMBER 29 2017

APPS

Twitter slammed for ‘inadequate’ response to Russian misinformation ads

Twitter Inc. dropped a bombshell Thursday after disclosing it had shut down 201 accounts connected to a Russian misinformation campaign.

In a report titled “Russian Interference in 2016 US Election, Bots, & Misinformation,” Twitter said it had discovered that 22 accounts were linked with the 450 accounts that Facebook Inc. had also linked with Russian-based organizations targeting U.S. voters. Twitter also said it found a further 179 accounts to be “related or linked” to the 22.

“Twitter deeply respects the integrity of the election process, which is a cornerstone for all democracies,” Twitter said in a statement. “We will continue to strengthen Twitter against attempted manipulation, including malicious automated accounts and spam, as well as other activities that violate our Terms of Service.”

Moreover, following a U.S. intelligence report that Russian news agency Russia Today had attempted to interfere with the U.S. election, Twitter revealed the agency had spent $274,100 on Twitter ads since 2016. Twitter said the 1,823 Tweets RT promoted were not in violation of Twitter’s terms of service. The main cause of concern is accounts that seem to be automated that have Russian origin.

“Russia and other post-Soviet states have been a primary source of automated and spammy content on Twitter for many years,” Twitter said. “Content that violates our rules with respect to automated accounts and spam can have a highly negative effect on user experience, and we have long taken substantial action to stem that flow.”

Following briefings on Thursday with the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Democratic Senator Mark Warner called the meeting “disappointing.” He called Twitter’s response to the alleged Russian meddling “inadequate on almost every level.”

Warner told reporters that Twitter had failed to see how serious the problem was. He said Twitter failed to recognize the “threat it poses to democratic institutions, and again begs many more questions than they offer.”

Twitter has said it will continue its investigations. “Due to the nature of these inquiries, we may not always be able to publicly share what we discuss with investigators,” Twitter said. “And there will always be tools or methods we cannot talk about, because doing so would only help bad actors circumvent them.”

Facebook Inc. and Google LLC will join Twitter in further sessions with U.S. intelligence committees in the coming months.

Image: Pixabay

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