Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 21-01-2018

Twitter says it would notify some of its users whether they were exposed to content generated by a suspected Russian propaganda service.

The social media company on Friday said it was reviewing Russian interference during the 2016 US elections.

Twitter says it will email 677,775 people in the United States who followed, retweeted or liked content from accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency (IRA) during the election.

The IRA is a Russian organisation that according to lawmakers and researchers, employs hundreds of people to push pro-Kremlin content under phony social media accounts.

Twitter adds that because it has already suspended these accounts, the relevant content is no longer publicly available on its platform.

Twitter says it had suspended about 200 Russian-linked accounts, and followed it by suspending adverts from media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik in October.

Top Democrat on the US House of Representatives intelligence committee Adam Schiff praised Twitter’s move and urged technology companies to keep looking into abuse of their platforms by Russia during the 2016 elections.

“The Committee’s open hearing last November with Twitter, Facebook and Google revealed the extent to which the Russians exploited vulnerabilities inherent in the openness of our society and social media platforms, and it is vital these companies are transparent with users who were likely exposed to Kremlin propaganda and disinformation.”

Twitter: @FaizelPatel143