Twitter Banned more than 200 Russian Propaganda Accounts

Facing scrutiny from Congress, Twitter today disclosed that more than 200 Russia-linked accounts had been used to spread propaganda and misinformation on the company's platform, reports TheVerge. 

The news follows similar disclosures from Facebook. Twitter points out that it found 22 accounts corresponding to those Facebook found. Additionally, Twitter found another 179 accounts. All of those accounts, Twitter said, had been or were soon banned, usually for violating spam rules. Unlike on Facebook, Twitter said the accounts it identified were not registered as advertisers.

Twitter released the news today after meeting with lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees, which are investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The company said that, over the coming months, it will be introducing new ways to detect malicious activity, although it did not provide specifics. "These are not meant to be definitive solutions," the company said in the post. "We've been fighting against these issues for years, and as long as there are people trying to manipulate Twitter, we will be working hard to stop them."