X removes more than 13,000 accounts over suspected foreign influence campaigns
X says it has removed more than 13,000 accounts connected to three suspected foreign influence operations targeting US political debate ahead of the 3 November midterm elections. The platform attributed the networks to Iran, Russia and China, saying they used inauthentic accounts to post and amplify political content about candidates and public figures across the political spectrum.
X did not publish evidence supporting those attributions. It also described its Civic Integrity policy on misleading voting information and content intended to discourage participation, with reports routed to Community Notes and moderation teams. The crowdsourced feature has faced questions about its ability to verify accuracy, while X’s moderation teams have been reduced since Elon Musk acquired Twitter; separately, MI5 chief Ken McCallum said Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 Brexit referendum, while cautioning that this did not show it changed the result.
- X says it removed over 13,000 accounts ahead of US midterms.
- The suspected operations were attributed to Iran, Russia and China.
- X provided no public evidence for those attributions.
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X, formerly known as Twitter, is a social media platform where users can post messages and share other people’s posts. Political campaigns and public figures use it to reach voters, while coordinated groups can use fake or misleading accounts to make messages appear more widely supported than they are.
The United States holds midterm elections halfway through a president’s four-year term, with voters choosing members of Congress and, in many states, other officials. Claims about foreign efforts to shape political debate have drawn attention in the US and elsewhere, including in Britain, where intelligence officials have discussed attempts to influence the 2016 Brexit referendum.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Removing suspected foreign influence accounts can help protect voters from coordinated deception and preserve trust in an election, particularly when networks impersonate ordinary users to amplify political messages. X can reasonably argue that acting against inauthentic behaviour is necessary even when the accounts’ posts span the political spectrum, and that its public account of the removals provides useful notice of its response.
The case against
Without evidence for the foreign attributions or details that would let outsiders assess the accounts, the removals risk asking the public to trust claims it cannot independently verify. Given questions about Community Notes’ accuracy and reduced moderation capacity, critics can reasonably argue that X should provide stronger, transparent evidence and explain how it distinguishes covert influence from legitimate political speech.
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Originally published by The Register as “X purges 13,000 accounts linked to suspected meddling ahead of US midterms”.