X suspends 13,000 accounts, alleging foreign influence ahead of US midterms
The social platform says networks targeted US political debate across the spectrum ahead of midterm elections.
Key points
- X suspended more than 13,000 accounts tied to suspected foreign influence operations from Iran, Russia and China ahead of the November 3 US midterms.
- The platform said the networks used fake accounts to post and amplify political content targeting candidates and public figures across the political spectrum.
- X also outlined election rules on voting misinformation, turnout suppression and voter intimidation, and said users can report posts through the civic integrity option.
X has suspended more than 13,000 accounts linked to three suspected foreign influence operations connected to Iran, Russia and China that sought to shape political debate in the United States. The company announced the suspensions on Wednesday as it set out measures ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections.
X said its investigations found the networks used fake accounts to post and amplify political content targeting candidates and public figures across the political spectrum. The accounts were identified through proactive sweeps and investigations under its rules against spam and coordinated inauthentic behaviour, the company said.
What the company said
X Global Government Affairs said free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy and described X as a global town square for such debates. It said its job is to keep that conversation authentic, open and safe.
The company also outlined rules covering misleading information about how, when or where to vote in the US midterms, attempts to suppress turnout and voter intimidation, including calls for violence near polling stations.
Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and we are proud that X is the global town square where these debates happen. Our job is to keep that conversation authentic, open, and safe.
— X Global Government Affairs
Reporting and earlier action
X said users can report election-related posts through the civic integrity option to request a community note providing context. In urgent cases, the platform said it may also apply labels to posts that violate its election rules.
The announcement comes a week after OpenAI said it had shut down two alleged influence operations from Russia and Iran that used ChatGPT to push fake journalist personas and run a think-tank that covertly spread anti-Ukraine propaganda.
X has acted against suspected foreign influence networks before. In 2021, Twitter, as X was then known, said it had suspended 238 accounts purportedly operating from Iran.
